"Silicon Valley culture expert, Fred Turner, has partnered with photographer, Mary Beth Meehan, to present an unseen view from the center of the tech world. This photography book does not celebrate the success of young entrepreneurs striving for efficiency in minimalist corporate campuses. Instead, we see portraits of those who struggle to survive -families displaced by an impossible real estate market or injured by environmental degradation. Their stories of stress, poverty, and pollution encourage reflection on the sacrifices of the community living in the same economic zone as thirty-something billionaires and a call for responsibility to the people of the real Silicon Valley"--
Acclaimed photographer Mary Beth Meehan and Silicon Valley culture expert Fred Turner join forces to give us an unseen view of the heart of the tech world. It's hard to imagine a place more central to American mythology today than Silicon Valley. To outsiders, the region glitters with the promise of extraordinary wealth and innovation. But behind this image lies another Silicon Valley, one segregated by race, class, and nationality in complex and contradictory ways. Its beautiful landscape lies atop underground streams of pollutants left behind by decades of technological innovation, and while its billionaires live in compounds, surrounded by redwood trees and security fences, its service workers live in their cars. With arresting photography and intimate stories, Seeing Silicon Valley makes this hidden world visible. Instead of young entrepreneurs striving for efficiency in minimalist corporate campuses, we see portraits of struggle--families displaced by an impossible real estate market, workers striving for a living wage, and communities harmed by environmental degradation. If the fate of Silicon Valley is the fate of America--as so many of its boosters claim--then this book gives us an unvarnished look into the future.
