Blood And Champagne: The Life And Times Of Robert Capa [Paperback]

Alex Kershaw (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 26, 2004

Robert Capa, one of the finest photojournalists and combat photographers of the twentieth century, covered every major conflict from the Spanish Civil War to the early conflict in Vietnam. Always close to the action, he created some of the most enduring images ever made with a camera--perhaps none more memorable than the gritty photos taken on the morning of D-Day.But the drama of Capa's life wasn't limited to one side of the lens. Born in Budapest as Andre Freidman, Capa fled political repression and anti-Semitism as a teenager by escaping to Berlin, where he first picked up a Leica camera. He founded Magnum, which today remains the most prestigious photographic agency of its kind. He was a gambler and seducer of several of his era's most alluring icons, including Ingrid Bergman, and his friends included Irwin Shaw, John Steinbeck, Ernest Hemingway, and John Huston.From Budapest in the twenties to Paris in the thirties, from postwar Hollywood to Stalin's Russia, from New York to Indochina, Blood and Champagne is a wonderfully evocative account of Capa's life and times.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'A tale rich with intrigue, love, lust, lies and betrayal...I loved this book' Janine di Giovanni; 'Ambition, integrity and courage were intertwined in Capa, as Alex Kershaw persuades in this elegant biography...a spellbinding portrait of his gypsy life.' Sunday Times; 'Packed with good stories, and snappily written, Blood and Champagne is as full of life as the man it celebrates.' Observer; 'Remarkably fine' Daily Telegraph --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Alex Kershaw is the author of the widely acclaimed and bestselling books The Bedford Boys, The Longest Winter, and The Few, and two biographies: Jack London and Blood and Champagne: The Life and Times of Robert Capa. He lives in Williamstown, Massachusetts.

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press (May 26, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0306813564
• ISBN-13: 978-0306813566
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #376,059 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Alex Kershaw is the New York Times best-selling author of several popular WW11 titles. He is a British born journalist.
His work emphasizes the human face of war.

Please visit alexkershaw.com for his full bio and some great web-sites devoted to his books. He would be happy to answer any questions and sign books and help in any other way.

You can also catch up with him and his work at his facebook page - alex kershaw, author's page. He blogs at www.alexkershaw.com and provides video/images/posts on facebook.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you're pictures aren't good enough . . ., November 23, 2010

By 

Photoman "D-76" (Pennsylvania, USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Blood And Champagne: The Life And Times Of Robert Capa (Paperback)

This seems to be a thoroughly researched book. All that is missing are the photographs taken by the subject - Robert Capa. Magnum and the late Cornell Capa did not allow Alex Kershaw to use them as they felt this was an UN-authorized bio. My question is: How MUCH better would an authorized bio be?? The writer goes back to Capa's first girl friend, his living conditions as a child, his parents' origins, plus anecdotes and qoutes from co-workers and friends. The life and death of the love of his life is also covered. I was throughly engrossed in the story of one of photography's greatest shooters and the changing times inwhich he lived. The addition of personal papers would have been good as well, but as I seem to recall, Kershaw writes that Capa was not a great writer, so perhaps he left little written record. Nonetheless, the record is the photography Capa left behind. I'm sure there are many websites and sources people can go to if they wish to see the work of this man. Not as a plug, but, The International Center of Photography in New York City might be a good place to start.

8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The 20th Century's greatest photojournalist, May 18, 2003

By 

Penguin Egg (London, England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Blood and Champagne (Paperback)

The life of Robert Capa is fascinating. Born in Budapest in 1913, he was to die forty years later in Vietnam after establishing himself as one of the great photojournalists of the 20th Century. He captured on film some of the most memorable pictures in the Spanish Civil War, including the iconic "The Falling Soldier." A shameless propagandist for the Republican cause, he thought nothing of having combatants "pose" for some of his most dramatic pictures - including, many think, "The Falling Soldier." Did the republican soldier fall because he was shot or because he tripped? Was it posed? The jury is still out on that one. A Jew at a time when anti-Semitism was rife in Europe, he became a committed anti-fascist and socialist. He established the photographers' co-operative, Magnum, in order that photographers had control over their own photographs and earnings. This was not so different to the kibbutzim established in Israel by highly idealistic settlers whom he so admired. Needless to say, Capa was there to record the birth of the fledgling state of Israel in 1948 and caught on film that nation's birth pains as it battled with its Arab neighbours. War was his medium, even though he hated it. He went over in a landing craft to photograph the D-Day landings and produced some of the most memorable pictures of battle ever taken. This was despite that most of the pictures were ruined during the rushed processing in London and some of those that survived are out of focus.

Capa was talented, generous, humorous, and charismatic. An inveterate gambler, he played poker with the likes of John Huston and Ernest Hemmingway, and inevitably lost. Like most people who don't care about money, money problems plagued him. Highly sexed, he counted some of the most beautiful women of the age amongst his lovers, including Ingrid Bergman. When lovers were not immediately available, he contended himself with prostitutes. Loving and loved in return, he was too much of a bohemian to commit himself to a permanent relationship. He could have been rich, but he never was. He could have happily married, but he never did.

Capa's luck ran out when he went to Vietnam in 1953 to cover the war between the French and the Vietnamese and trod on a landmine.

Alex Kershaw deserves credit for writing such a meticulously researched and readable biography.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars AMAZING!, March 29, 2011

By 

SLester - See all my reviews

This review is from: Blood And Champagne: The Life And Times Of Robert Capa (Paperback)

This book is absolutely amazing! I had always wondered about Robert Capa growing up. Who was he? Where was he from? Why is his name on all of the D-Day picture credits on those bury pictures? Alex Kershaw does a masterful job of telling the life story of such an interesting man. So many gifts in life and privileges that he left behind to follow his passion of photography. The many wars he covered and the life he lived are much alike in times of peace and in times of war as his life was a roller coaster of emotions and experiences that eventually led to his death. If you are interested in Robert Capa, photography, or in Alex Kershaw as a writer, this is a must read!