- Hardcover: 608 pages
- Publisher: Thames & Hudson Ltd (Oct 2004)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0500542937
- ISBN-13: 978-0500542934
- Product Dimensions: 25.4 x 21.6 x 5.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 701,054 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Description
Review
`A spellbinding history of the latter half of the 20th century ... a stunning book' --The Daily Express
`A volume of living history ... impressive'
--The Independent on Sunday
'Wonderful ... the bargain price alone should be worth taking a punt, but the production quality is also excellent ... Compact yet dramatic' --Amateur Photographer
'Extraordinary' --The Sunday Express
'To freeze time, to capture the moment, to put the viewer slap-bang into the action ... that's what LIFE magazine did in its 36-year reign as the crucible of photojournalism' --John Walsh, The Independent
'There are some truly startling and iconic wartime images ... more than a collection of great photos; it's an essential historic document' --Practical Photography
'Stunning ... the pictures here offer a remarkable record of the century ... Simply breathtaking in its range and quality, this is an extraordinary book'
--Book of the Week, Press & Journal
'An astonishing record of the world both in history and in the near present'
--The Birmingham Post --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
`A volume of living history ... impressive'
--The Independent on Sunday
'Wonderful ... the bargain price alone should be worth taking a punt, but the production quality is also excellent ... Compact yet dramatic' --Amateur Photographer
'Extraordinary' --The Sunday Express
'To freeze time, to capture the moment, to put the viewer slap-bang into the action ... that's what LIFE magazine did in its 36-year reign as the crucible of photojournalism' --John Walsh, The Independent
'There are some truly startling and iconic wartime images ... more than a collection of great photos; it's an essential historic document' --Practical Photography
'Stunning ... the pictures here offer a remarkable record of the century ... Simply breathtaking in its range and quality, this is an extraordinary book'
--Book of the Week, Press & Journal
'An astonishing record of the world both in history and in the near present'
--The Birmingham Post --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
Product Description
From 1936 until the end of the 20th century, the photographers of Life magazine travelled the globe to chronicle in pictures every aspect of the human condition. This book is their testament, and it in turn is a testament to their talent, creativity and, indeed, their courage. The best work of every Life magazine staff photographer, as well as that of a handful of others closely affiliated with the magazine, is on display in this book. Here are portfolios by over 100 of the greatest photographers the world has ever known, including Alfred Eisenstadt, Margaret Bourke-White, Carl Mydans, Gordon Parks, W. Eugene Smith, Robert Capa, Ralph Morse, Nina Leen, Harry Benson, Philippe Halsman and, most recently, Joe McNally. Here are Capa's pictures from the D-Day landing, Mydans's of MacArthur striding ashore, Bourke-White's evidence of the Holocaust, David Douglas Duncan's Korea, Larry Burrows's Vietnam, Ralph Morse's chronicle of the Mercury 7 astronauts. Here are intimate, defining and revealing portraits of celebrities, from Sophia Loren and Marilyn Monroe to the Beatles and Michael Jackson. This is a volume of living history - the history of our times, as seen by the photographers who captured and immortalized it.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
On page 558 of this stunning photo book there is a studio shot taken in 1960 by Bill Sumits of thirty-eight Life photographers, surely the only time in history that so many great photographers have been together in one place and it is amazing to think that the ninety-nine featured in the book were all on the staff of this one publication.
The book is arranged alphabetically and each photographer gets between five and eight images plus their photo and short hundred or so word biography. Now it's possible to see who took so many images that defined a moment and became classic examples of photojournalism and also to see other examples of their great work. John Loengard's introduction does not say so but I assume all the photos did appear in Life and they cover the years from 1936 (when the title started) to 1997. The book is well designed with mostly one photo per page (well printed in 175 dpi) and a caption and nicely some photos get longer captions where a photographer reveals some background detail about their images.
There are a lot of news type photos here, especially from the Second World War years but equally as many taken from the photo-essay style work that Life became famous for. Others show celebrities and ordinary folk going about their lives. These photos are so good that you have to stop and really take notice of what they are telling you. I think this wonderful book is a strong visual reminder of how great Life was.
The book is arranged alphabetically and each photographer gets between five and eight images plus their photo and short hundred or so word biography. Now it's possible to see who took so many images that defined a moment and became classic examples of photojournalism and also to see other examples of their great work. John Loengard's introduction does not say so but I assume all the photos did appear in Life and they cover the years from 1936 (when the title started) to 1997. The book is well designed with mostly one photo per page (well printed in 175 dpi) and a caption and nicely some photos get longer captions where a photographer reveals some background detail about their images.
There are a lot of news type photos here, especially from the Second World War years but equally as many taken from the photo-essay style work that Life became famous for. Others show celebrities and ordinary folk going about their lives. These photos are so good that you have to stop and really take notice of what they are telling you. I think this wonderful book is a strong visual reminder of how great Life was.
5 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is full of classic photographs and is amazing value for money. There are over 600 pages so p&p was clearly going to be fairly high but worth every penny.
It is more of a picture book but at least that means that you can pick it up and put it down at will without losing the plot. It also means however that these extraordianry photographs, whilst an inspiration in their own right could benefit from a little background. One thing that is apparent - particularly with respect to the photographs of world conflict - is that there is nothing new and we do not seem to learn from the past.
It is more of a picture book but at least that means that you can pick it up and put it down at will without losing the plot. It also means however that these extraordianry photographs, whilst an inspiration in their own right could benefit from a little background. One thing that is apparent - particularly with respect to the photographs of world conflict - is that there is nothing new and we do not seem to learn from the past.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
11 reviews
38 of 38 people found the following review helpful
Captured: compassion and compositions.
13 Nov 2004
Format:Hardcover
On page 558 of this stunning photo book there is a studio shot taken in 1960 by Bill Sumits of thirty-eight Life photographers, surely the only time in history that so many great photographers have been together in one place and it is amazing to think that the ninety-nine featured in the book were all on the staff of this one publication.
The book is arranged alphabetically and each photographer gets between five and eight images plus their photo and short hundred or so word biography. Now it's possible to see who took so many images that defined a moment and became classic examples of photojournalism and also to see other examples of their great work. John Loengard's introduction does not say so but I assume all the photos did appear in Life and they cover the years from 1936 (when the title started) to 1997. The book is well designed with mostly one photo per page (well printed in 175 dpi) and a caption and nicely some photos get longer captions where a photographer reveals some background detail about their images.
There are a lot of news type photos here, especially from the Second World War years but equally as many taken from the photo-essay style work that Life became famous for. Others show celebrities and ordinary folk going about their lives. These photos are so good that you have to stop and really take notice of what they are telling you. I think this wonderful book is a strong visual reminder of how great Life was.
A fascinating book that came out some years ago: Great Photographic Essays from Life and still available (quite cheaply, too) has twenty-two photo essays reproduced slightly smaller than they originally appeared in the weekly. I found it fascinating to see how great photos, which I've seen many times in other books over the years, were presented on the page.
***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.
The book is arranged alphabetically and each photographer gets between five and eight images plus their photo and short hundred or so word biography. Now it's possible to see who took so many images that defined a moment and became classic examples of photojournalism and also to see other examples of their great work. John Loengard's introduction does not say so but I assume all the photos did appear in Life and they cover the years from 1936 (when the title started) to 1997. The book is well designed with mostly one photo per page (well printed in 175 dpi) and a caption and nicely some photos get longer captions where a photographer reveals some background detail about their images.
There are a lot of news type photos here, especially from the Second World War years but equally as many taken from the photo-essay style work that Life became famous for. Others show celebrities and ordinary folk going about their lives. These photos are so good that you have to stop and really take notice of what they are telling you. I think this wonderful book is a strong visual reminder of how great Life was.
A fascinating book that came out some years ago: Great Photographic Essays from Life and still available (quite cheaply, too) has twenty-two photo essays reproduced slightly smaller than they originally appeared in the weekly. I found it fascinating to see how great photos, which I've seen many times in other books over the years, were presented on the page.
***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
A superb retrospective of the golden age of photo journalism
4 Jan 2007
Format:Hardcover
It's not fashionable these days to speak of Henry Luce as great because his political views weren't left-wing. But the truth is Luce was a brilliant man who built a publishing empire based on delivering information in a concise way. His empire began with Time, then Fortune and next Life, a magazine that told its stories through pictures. (Sports Illustrated and the abominable People followed, the latter after Luce's death.)
Life editors perfected the photo essay. To do this, they hired some of the finest photographers in the world. This work showcases the work of 99 of those photographers in 698 color and black-and-white photos.
It is a glorious work. Life photographers were perfectionists. The technicians at the Life labs who printed their work were perfectionists. The editors who selected, cropped and laid out the work of the photographers and lab techs were perfectionists.
The result was for nearly sixty years a collection of some of the finest photography created in the 20th Century. It is sad that public tastes changed, that television overwhelmed the desire to leaf through the pages of magazines like Life.
The news in those days was largely captured in the still photograph. And here many of them are. The young Shah of Iran talking with Wendell Wilkie, the 1940 Republican Presidential candidate on a flight somewhere. An iconic photo of fashion-plate Jacqueline Kennedy and nattily-clad toddler son John, Jr. walking along the ocean in Palm Beach. American soldiers passing by a fallen comrade on a brige across the Roer River.The dazzingly beautiful 16 year old Elizabeth Taylor and incredibly intense 24 year old Marlon Brando two years before his first film role. The crowded Saturday night main street in small town Franklin, Indiana in 1940. All these and more were grist for the weekly Life Magazine, the equivalent then of a dozen or more cable television stations today.
It isn't mentioned in this book how many photos exist in the Life archives. Probably a million and maybe far more. But these 698 are a fair representation of the skill, talent and greatness of the 99 Life photographers seen here. (Not included are the many free-lancers whose work also appeared in Life.)
For anyone who appreciates photography as an art, this is a must-have.
Jerry
Life editors perfected the photo essay. To do this, they hired some of the finest photographers in the world. This work showcases the work of 99 of those photographers in 698 color and black-and-white photos.
It is a glorious work. Life photographers were perfectionists. The technicians at the Life labs who printed their work were perfectionists. The editors who selected, cropped and laid out the work of the photographers and lab techs were perfectionists.
The result was for nearly sixty years a collection of some of the finest photography created in the 20th Century. It is sad that public tastes changed, that television overwhelmed the desire to leaf through the pages of magazines like Life.
The news in those days was largely captured in the still photograph. And here many of them are. The young Shah of Iran talking with Wendell Wilkie, the 1940 Republican Presidential candidate on a flight somewhere. An iconic photo of fashion-plate Jacqueline Kennedy and nattily-clad toddler son John, Jr. walking along the ocean in Palm Beach. American soldiers passing by a fallen comrade on a brige across the Roer River.The dazzingly beautiful 16 year old Elizabeth Taylor and incredibly intense 24 year old Marlon Brando two years before his first film role. The crowded Saturday night main street in small town Franklin, Indiana in 1940. All these and more were grist for the weekly Life Magazine, the equivalent then of a dozen or more cable television stations today.
It isn't mentioned in this book how many photos exist in the Life archives. Probably a million and maybe far more. But these 698 are a fair representation of the skill, talent and greatness of the 99 Life photographers seen here. (Not included are the many free-lancers whose work also appeared in Life.)
For anyone who appreciates photography as an art, this is a must-have.
Jerry
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Intersting
4 Dec 2009
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
This book is like a walk through history. It pictures so many different eras in it. Its filled with happy moment and sad moments. The book it entirely of photographs with small captions under most pics. It is organized by photographer. I gives you a glimps at each photographers style. I originally bought this book for inspiration on some pencil art I was doing. For months I had it on my coffee table next to my sketch pad and all my friends would instantly peruse through it as we hung out. It became such a conversation starter that the coffee table has now become the books permanent home.
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