Saturday Review: “The Images That Made Us” a review by Terry Roberts of Brent Martin’s book George Masa’s Wild Vision: A Japanese Immigrant Imagines Western North Carolina (2022) in NCLR Online Winter 2025
Terry Roberts starts his review with a background of “George Masa (1881–1933) is a profoundly important – but also profoundly enigmatic – figure in the history of Western North Carolina. Research by a number of historians and biographers over the last forty years has taught us just how significant an impact he had on our understanding and appreciation of the Southern Appalachian Mountains.” Masa captured these breathtakingly beautiful photographs by “mapping trails, measuring peaks, and climbing to the perfect spot from which to capture an inspired and inspiring image – all while lugging a heavy camera on its awkward tripod.”
Roberts once again reiterates the importance of both Masa, and Martin’s book, by ending the review with, “Ultimately, the reason we remember George Masa and visit his grave (as Martin does at the end of his book) is that he worked so hard to preserve the mountains we love – both in image and in reality – almost as if he somehow knew we would come behind him on the trail. And through his monumental efforts, we would learn to see as he saw and believe as he believed.”
Read the entire review in the NCLR Online Winter 2025 issue out now! And order the book from Bookshop.org.
