The Great LIFE Photographers [Hardcover]

The Editors of LIFE (Author), John Loengard (Contributor), Gordon Parks (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2004

This book represents the work of every LIFE magazine staff photographer from the 20th century, as well as a handful of others closely affiliated with the magazine, including Alfred Eisenstadt, Margaret Bourke-White, Gordon Parks, Eugene Smith, and Joe McNally. THE GREAT LIFE PHOTOGRAPHERS presents the most iconic images of the past century, as well as little-known gems from the LIFE archives. Many of these images are markers of the major milestones of history--the first pictures from inside the womb or from outer space, Robert Capas falling soldier, and memorable scenes from Tiananmen Square. Defining celebrity portraits of Sophia Loren, Marilyn Monroe, the Beatles, and Michael Jackson are also featured. This startingly rich collection of both color and black-and-white photographs is a vivid fulfillment of Henry Luces charge: To see life; to see the world....To be amazed!

Editorial Reviews

Review

A Good Morning America Best Coffee Table Book of the Season, Charles Gibson Selection, 2004

I cannot recommend the LIFE collection highly enough. It intrigues and stimulates more than the sea of data that sweeps through our lives each day. (The Guardian )

Images such as one of the Beatles cavorting in a swimming pool are instantly recognizable, but less well-known photos, such as a 1952 shot of a roller-skating horse, are equally charming. (BusinessWeek )

The Great LIFE Photographers... depicts the evolution of photography from the early 1940s until the end of the 20th century. [It] is 600 pages from start to finish and will captivate and inspire any type of photographer. (TakeGreatPictures.com )

The Great LIFE Photographers features pictures by more than 200 of the century's best photojournalists on staff at the magazine throughout its history. But lesser-known works still retain enormous storytelling power decades later, attesting to the skill and artistry of photographers who placed themselves mere feet from the action to frame the shot. (BookPage )

A great gift.

(The Art Quarterly ) --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

LIFE magazine was founded by Henry Luce in 1936 and chronicled every aspect of the human condition through the end of the 20th century.

Gordon Parks is one of the early Life photographers and among the most esteemed photographers of our time. He is also an acclaimed poet, filmmaker and composer. He has published several books with Bulfinch, including the acclaimed Half Past Autumn (1997).

John Loengard is a veteran LIFE photographer and a chronicler of LIFE's illustrious history. He received the Henry Luce Lifetime Achievement Award for 2004 from Time, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 608 pages
• Publisher: Bulfinch; First Edition edition (November 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0821228927
• ISBN-13: 978-0821228920
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 2 x 10.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #732,101 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Captured: compassion and compositions., November 13, 2004

By 

Robin Benson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Great LIFE Photographers (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.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A superb retrospective of the golden age of photo journalism, January 3, 2007

By 

Jerry Saperstein (Evanston, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Great LIFE Photographers (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

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Intersting, December 4, 2009

By 

T. A. Leonard "tiffy" (chico, cali) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Great LIFE Photographers (Hardcover)

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.