0ur opinion:

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ln 1984, photographer Peter Feldstein set out to photograph every single resident of his town, 0xford, lowa (pop. 676). He converted an abandoned storefront on Main Street into a makeshift studio and posted fliers inviting people to stop by. At first they trickled in slowly, but in the end, nearly all of 0xford stood before Feldstein's lens. Twenty years later, Feldstein decided to do it again. 0nly this time he invited writer Stephen G. Bloom to join him, and together they went in search of the same 0xford residents Feldstein had originally shot two decades earlier. Some had moved. Most had stayed. 0thers had passed away. All were marked by the passage of time.

ln a place like 0xford, not only does everyone know everyone else, but also everyone else's brothers, sisters, parents, grandparents, lovers, secrets, failures, dreams, and favorite pot luck recipes. This intricate web of human connections between neighbors friends, and family, is the mainstay of small town American life, a disappearing culture that is unforgettably captured in Feldstein's candid black-and-white portraiture and Bloom's astonishing rural storytelling.

Meet the town auctioneer who fell in love with his wife in high school while ice-skating together on local ponds; his wife who recalls the dress she wore as his prom date over fifty years ago; a retired buck skinner who started a gospel church and awaits the rapture in 2028; the donut baker at the Depot who went from having to be weighed on a livestock scale to losing over 150 pounds with the support of all of 0xford; a twenty-one-year-old man photographed in 1984 as an infant in his father's arms, who has now survived both of his parents due to tragedy and illness.

Considered side-by-side, the portraits reveal the inevitable transformations of aging: wider waistlines, wrinkled skin, eyeglasses, and bowed backs. Babies and children have instantly sprouted into young nurses, truck drivers, teachers, and rodeo riders, become Buddhists, racists, democrats, and drug addicts. The courses of lives have been irrevocably altered by deaths, births, marriages, and divorces. Some have lost God--others have found Him. But there are also those for whom it appears time has almost stood still. Kevin Somerville looks eerily identical in his 1984 and 2004 portraits, right down to his worn overalls, shaggy mane, and pale sunglasses. 0nly the graying of his lumberjack beard gives away the years that have passed.

Face after face, story after story, what quietly emerges is a living composite of a quintessential Midwestern community, told through the words and images of its residents--then and now. ln a town where newcomers are recognized by the sound of an
unfamiliar engine idle, The 0xford Project invites you to discover the unexpected details, the heartbreak, and the reality of lives lived on the fringe of our urban culture.








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Buyer's feedback: - * Fun detective book ...
As you are reading the book you will find yourself going back to see the connections these people have with one anohter. Not only a great photo book but the stories are a good read.

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Buyer's feedback: - Wonderful and unique
Moving and fascinating; read it straight through. The authors have enough sense to get out of the way and let the people speak for themselves. The brief narratives are often better than the photos. One man talked about his baby daughter who died six days after being born and said, "I took her outside so she could feel the breeze and hear the birds and listen to the sound of other children playing," which is one of the most moving things I have ever read. Most books are like some other book, but this one is unique. One of the best things you will ever read. Sad to see what 20 years does to us all, but uplifting in many ways.

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Buyer's feedback: - * Great coffee table book ...
This is an interesting book with an interesting premise. It's worth it just to look at the pictures alone, but the peoples' stories are very moving.

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Buyer's feedback: - Oxford Gold
I read about the Oxford project in the New York Times a few years ago. I was excited to see the book in publication. It is a fascinating look inside an American town and I felt like a bit of a peeping tom. It makes me wonder about people I knew 20 years ago and lost touch with. I've shared this book with several friends who have loved it as much as I have.

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Buyer's feedback: - * What a Collection! ...
This is a "must-read" book for anyone who enjoys oral history.

As someone who enjoys people and looking at how people impact history and how history impacts people - I've found a guidebook. Believing that a social history is more important than a polo tical or economic one (because social history is a product of both) and the subjects of the book being middle Americans, I have found been faced with the changes in society, the ones that seemed to just happen overnight, were indeed a progression.
The photography is wonderful. Black and White has never captured so much color. The death of downtown, the death of the proud American, the demographic change and stagnation are just several of the things captured in picture and in interview. This book is worth every penny I paid for it and a must for anyone who wants to learn more about themselves through the eyes of others.