- Hardcover: 192 pages
- Publisher: Flammarion (19 Oct 2009)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 2080301144
- ISBN-13: 978-2080301147
- Product Dimensions: 30.4 x 2.2 x 24 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
160,822 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #62 in Books > History > Military History > Encyclopaedias & Pictorials
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Product Description
Product Description
An exceptional and comprehensive view, drawn from the Magnum photographic archives, of the dramatic events that defined World War II in all of the wartime arenas. A vivid reminder of World War II, this collection captures the defining moments of the war and the acts of courage that arose from the ashes. Taken from Magnums archives, these imagesby the greatest photographers of the erabear witness to the world-changing events of the war, immortalized in moments of daring and honor, and to the devastation it left behind across the conflict zones in Europe, Africa, and Asia. Organized chronologically, each photograph delivers dramatic impact through its powerful aesthetic quality and documentary importance, and is accompanied by a succinct text explaining its historical context. Includes photographs by Werner Bischof, Robert Capa, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Erich Hartmann, Erich Lessing, Herbert List, Wayne Miller, George Rodger, David Seymour, W. Eugene Smith, Kryn Taconis, the Soviet Group, and Wu Yinxian.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
As a great fan of Magnum and some of its legendary photographers, I was very keen to get my hands on this volume. It's a good price and when it arrived was obviously a quality volume: it's very nicely presented on quality paper and the photos are very well reproduced. Even better is the variety and scope of the material covered: there are pics I've never seen before from obscure theatres of the war, and some of the best photographers (including my favourite, W. Eugene Smith) have numerous pics included. I really like the chronological ordering of the chapters too, which gives a simple progressive structure to the book.
Where I feel that this volume is let down is in the text which accompanies each photo: by Remy Desquesnes, it is over-simplistic and sometimes quite clumsily-written. For example, for the photo on p.138 of a U.S. soldier ushering German prisoners with his bayonet, we get:
"An American soldier, whose comrade has just been killed, is determined to capture the sniper responsible for firing the fatal shot. It required an uncommon nobility of soul not to take revenge on the spot and execute the German soldier, who, in general, once his hiding place was discovered, would simply stand up and put his hands in the air."
At best,this kind of editorialising is based on generalisations too broad to be enlightening, and at worst, suggests a rather biased attitude on the part of Desquesnes. We know that not all Allied soldiers were 'uncommonly noble', nor all Germans cowardly quitters. It certainly does little toward giving some tangible context to the photo in question. Thankfully, these are in the minority, although, surprisingly for a book of this quality, there's also the odd typo.
But these gripes shouldn't detract from the strength of the book, which is the pictures -- it's worth the price of admission for these alone.
Where I feel that this volume is let down is in the text which accompanies each photo: by Remy Desquesnes, it is over-simplistic and sometimes quite clumsily-written. For example, for the photo on p.138 of a U.S. soldier ushering German prisoners with his bayonet, we get:
"An American soldier, whose comrade has just been killed, is determined to capture the sniper responsible for firing the fatal shot. It required an uncommon nobility of soul not to take revenge on the spot and execute the German soldier, who, in general, once his hiding place was discovered, would simply stand up and put his hands in the air."
At best,this kind of editorialising is based on generalisations too broad to be enlightening, and at worst, suggests a rather biased attitude on the part of Desquesnes. We know that not all Allied soldiers were 'uncommonly noble', nor all Germans cowardly quitters. It certainly does little toward giving some tangible context to the photo in question. Thankfully, these are in the minority, although, surprisingly for a book of this quality, there's also the odd typo.
But these gripes shouldn't detract from the strength of the book, which is the pictures -- it's worth the price of admission for these alone.
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