While things geared up in the 18th century, the 19th century was the century of profound changes and inventions. Trains, practical electricity, the telegraph and telephone, and, late in the 19th century, the car and airplane, form the base for our modern connected world. Another invention of the time, directly related to the acquisition and storage of information, is photography. The more difficult part was inventing the chemical process for recording pictures -the cameras themselves started out as simple wooden boxes, a far cry from the high-tech electronic marvel that is the modern digital camera.

Camera by Todd Gustavson chronicles this development in words and pictures. Extensively illustrated using cameras from the George Eastman Kodak collection, it gives a comprehensive picture – from the early wooden boxes, over film cameras big and small, to digital. The main focus of the book is on the first 100 years of photography – don’t expect it to be a complete reference on all SLRs ever made. But for anyone with an interest in the tool behind photography, the camera, this book is a must-have. Highly recommended!