AndrewL.YarrowtellsthestoryofLookmagazine,oneofthegreatestmass-circulationpublicationsinAmericanhistory,andtheverydifferentUnitedStatesinwhichitexisted.Theall-but-forgottenmagazinehadanextraordinaryinfluenceonmid-twentieth-centuryAmerica,notonlybytellingpowerful,thoughtfulstoriesandprintingoutstandingphotographsbutalsobyhelpingtocreateanationalconversationaroundacommonsetofideasandideals.YarrowdescribeshowthemagazinecoveredtheUnitedStatesandtheworld,tellingstoriesofpeopleandtrends,injusticesandtriumphs,andincludedessaysbyprominentAmericanssuchasMartinLutherKingJr.andMargaretMead.Itdidnotshyawayfromexposingthecountry’sproblems,butitalwaysbelievedthatthoseproblemscouldbesolved.Look,whichwaspublishedfrom1937to1971andhadabout35millionreadersatitspeak,wasanastuteobserverwithadistinctivetakeononeofthegreatesterasinU.S.history--fromwinningWorldWarIIandbuildingimmense,increasinglyinclusiveprosperitytocelebratinggrandachievementsandadvancingtherightsofBlackandfemalecitizens.BecausethemagazineshapedAmericans’beliefswhileguidingthecountrythroughaperiodofprofoundsocialandculturalchange,thisisalsoastoryabouthowalong-goneformofjournalismhelpedmakeAmericabetterandassuredreadersitcouldbebetterstill.
