They Drew Fire [Hardcover]

Nicole Newnham (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

On the dust jacket, Tom Lea's painting of an overtaxed World War II combat veteran with a "thousand-yard stare" looks out somewhere beyond us. The image is representative of those drawn or painted by military artists whose job it was to document, in a way cameras could not, the violence of combat as well as the tedium of life in the rear. Some went on to artistic fame as civilians, and their valuable work became part of the archive of combat art commissioned by the military. Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Lanker (I Dream a World) and documentary filmmaker Newnham (Unforgettable Face) follow the PBS documentary of the same name, often quoting the artists as they appeared on screen. The authors describe the armed forces' arts program and Life magazine's commissions, including one funded by Abbot Laboratories that concentrated on medical themes. Emotional extremes fuel the most vivid art; some of it is hard to take, leaving haunting images that linger for a lifetime. Recommended for art as well as military collections.DMel D. Lane, Sacramento, CA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: TV Books; First edition (May 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1575000857
• ISBN-13: 978-1575000855
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 8.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,336,246 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Charlie Rose Interview, May 19, 2000

By 

Nemo Fan (Brooklyn) - See all my reviews

This review is from: They Drew Fire (Hardcover)

This book is meant to accompany a documentary, and when I saw the director and two of the combat artists on Charlie Rose (5/19/00?), they showed several of the drawings from the book, and they were pretty amazing.

I think it's true that we think of WWII as primarily a photographer's war, but some of these paintings give a new feeling (one driven by an artist's emotion) to the war that isn't quite the same as through photography.

Even though I only saw a few of the paintings on the interview, it was enough for me to plan to buy the book.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Soul of War, October 17, 2001

By 

Christopher B. Valenti (Richmond, VA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: They Drew Fire (Hardcover)

This collection fills a small void in WWII history. To this point we could read stories, hear stories, read books on campaigns,look at photographs and film, and even watch full color film of battles (see WWII in Color DVD, Lost Color Archives DVD, Mein Krieg DVD), but none of these mediums can convey the things that painting can. Paintings speak to us without words. They need no translation. This is the soul of WWII and should be part of anyone's collection.

4.0 out of 5 stars They Drew Fire, November 2, 2010

By 

Jonathan C. Cook (Mansfield, Massachusetts) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: They Drew Fire (Hardcover)

I thought this was a great book. It is an amazing story of the artists who, in many cases, braved the battlefields of World War 2 and endured many dangers and privations to record first-hand images of life on the front lines. Despite these conditions they managed to produce some amazing drawings and paintings, many of which are reproduced for the enjoyment of the reader. This book provides, not only the story of how this program of battlefield artists came to be, but also biographical information on many of the individual artists themselves. I read it cover to cover with much enthusiasm, and would recommend it to anyone interested in artists and their art, as well as students of World War 2.