In 1968, Josef Koudelka was a 30-year-old acclaimed theater photographer who had never made pictures of a news event. That all changed on the night of August 21, when Warsaw Pact tanks invaded the city of Prague, ending the short-lived political liberalization in Czechoslovakia that came to be known as the Prague Spring. Koudelka had returned home the day before from photographing gypsies in Romania. In the midst of the turmoil of the Soviet-led invasion, he took a series of photographs which were miraculously smuggled out of the country. A year after they reached New York, Magnum Photos distributed the images credited to "an unknown Czech photographer" to avoid reprisals. The intensity and significance of the images earned the still-anonymous photographer the Robert Capa Award. Sixteen years would pass before Koudelka could safely acknowledge authorship. Forty years after the invasion, this impressive monograph features nearly 250 of these searing images--most of them published here for the first time--personally selected by Koudelka from his extensive archive. Interspersed with the images are press and propaganda quotations from the time, also selected by Koudelka, alongside a text by three Czech historians. Though the images gathered in this remarkable publication document a specific historical event, their transformative quality still resonates.
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"The 250 photographs in this book constitute a rare and poetic vision of a nation coming together, not in victory but in defeat. The images of young people sitting in front tanks, or boys strutting with their flag, certainly convey widespread defiance, anger, betrayal, and bits of commendable bravura. But even more compelling are Koudelka's pictures showing the private expressions of fear of citizens as they reflexively draw their fists to their cheeks or gape in open-mouthed horror or simply stand in stoop-shouldered but unmistakably sullen submission as the Soviets direct traffic. Koudelka took his photos as his own gesture of personal resistance." -- Michael T. Kaufman --Barnes & Noble Review
"Episodes unfurl only inches from his camera lens, and the surreal terror of these circumstances--wherein ordinary unarmed civilians took to the streets to face down tanks and helicopters--is communicated in every photograph." -- Robert Ayers --Art News
"A handful of the published images in Josef Koudelka's 'Invasion 68: Prague'... defined how we saw the 1968 Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia. Indeed, his graphic verve and courage--like most of his fellow citizens, he was unarmed and confronting men in tanks--became a template for war photojournalists ever after. This book of largely unpublished material shows why Mr. Koudelka continues to be so revered." -- Richard B. Woodward --The Wall Street Journal
"The engaging and humanistic aspect and the quality of the work is in the faces and gestures of the inhabitants of Prague and the young soldiers, who hardly seem to understand what they are doing. These remain stunning pictures, balancing an enormous amount of visual information and human tragedy. Koudelka aimed his camera at those moments of disbelief, rage, heroism and confidence when humans show who they are. This book, along with its historical value, shares with us its lesson and message about which there can be no mistake." --Foam: International Photography Magazine
"Episodes unfurl only inches from his camera lens, and the surreal terror of these circumstances--wherein ordinary unarmed civilians took to the streets to face down tanks and helicopters--is communicated in every photograph." -- Robert Ayers --Art News
"A handful of the published images in Josef Koudelka's 'Invasion 68: Prague'... defined how we saw the 1968 Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia. Indeed, his graphic verve and courage--like most of his fellow citizens, he was unarmed and confronting men in tanks--became a template for war photojournalists ever after. This book of largely unpublished material shows why Mr. Koudelka continues to be so revered." -- Richard B. Woodward --The Wall Street Journal
"The engaging and humanistic aspect and the quality of the work is in the faces and gestures of the inhabitants of Prague and the young soldiers, who hardly seem to understand what they are doing. These remain stunning pictures, balancing an enormous amount of visual information and human tragedy. Koudelka aimed his camera at those moments of disbelief, rage, heroism and confidence when humans show who they are. This book, along with its historical value, shares with us its lesson and message about which there can be no mistake." --Foam: International Photography Magazine
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
To those who have a connection to the Czech Republic or Czechoslovakia, this is a must see. 1968 means a lot to Czechs, even though very few today's Russians know what their country did to their western neighbor. The invasion has been an emotional experience to everyone. Having look at those pictures in the book is also emotional. Great shots, high quality print, excellent collection overall. I was born way after 1968, but this book explains why are my parents so emotional about 1968 and why are they so emotional about Russia too...
2 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By S. Hunter
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I received my copy of Invasion 68 the week that Russian tanks where rumbling their way through Georgia.
Almost 40 years to the day that the same thing happened in the then Czechoslovakia.
As a work of photo journalism Invasion 68 is very impressive, its images sadly timeless.
Almost 40 years to the day that the same thing happened in the then Czechoslovakia.
As a work of photo journalism Invasion 68 is very impressive, its images sadly timeless.
2 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Koudelka is an icon of 20th century photography. His images, shot with Leica cameras capture the rape of Prague by the Soviet Union. All printed beautifully in this tome.
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