WashU professor’s book explores the power and privilege of seeing from above

On September 10, 1910, Thomas Scott Baldwin flew over St. Louis, thrilling 200,000 onlookers along the Mississippi River. That moment of early flight — and many others — is at the heart of Edward McPherson’s 2025 book, “Look Out: The Delight and Danger of Taking the Long View.” The Washington University professor writes about aerial photography, long-distance mapping and how seeing from above shapes power, privilege and perspective. In this encore presentation, we talk with McPherson about the book that's rooted in St. Louis and relays stories about the Mississippian people in present-day Collinsville and the aerial surveillance of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.