U.S. Army Photo Album: Shooting the War in Color, 1941-45 USA to ETO [Illustrated] [Hardcover]

Jonathan Gawne (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 2001

A lost collection of hundreds of previously unreleased full color photos of American troops in the months before and after D-Day.

The author is an acknowledged expert on the D Day landings and went on to write the seminal book "Spearheading D Day".

The book is published in full color and is a hardcover with a printed laminated cover illustrated as you can see to the right. There is no dust jacket with this book.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Histoire and Collections; illustrated edition edition (January 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 2908182408
• ISBN-13: 978-2908182408
• Product Dimensions: 12.6 x 9.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,493,015 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly Informative Work, July 19, 1999

By 

El Cutachero (MD USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: U.S. Army Photo Album: Shooting the War in Color, 1941-45 USA to ETO (Hardcover)

The author has made a specialty of winkling out color photography taken during WW II. The modern 35mm camera had just been introduced in the late 1930s and Kodacolor and Kodachrome were just being marketed in the U.S. But most professionals still used Speed Graphics and other large format plate film cameras which took only monochrome photos. As most magazines and all newspapers, except in their Sunday roto sections, used B & W pictures only, there was little incentive to take large amounts of color. As for the film of the day, it was quite slow compared with that of today, and required almost ideal sun conditions at mid-day to come out. For years those of us who researched in the Signal Corps archives knew there were color negatives available but it was easier to order B & W copies. In addition, much WW II color was taken by private individuals with personally owned 35mm cameras either captured from the enemy or smuggled overseas. Field conditions were such that color 35mm film processing was non existent for the individual not on official business. Considering the conditions under which they have been kept and the chemical instability of the film negatives, it is surprising how much good material actually has survived. The author is to be commended, first, for finding so much clear photography and,second, for having the detailed knowledge of clothing, arms, and equipment, to properly write identifying captions. This is one for the serious collector and historian, not for the shelf in the local public library. It will probably be stolen anyway. It's that tempting.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superior World War Two Photographic History, January 18, 2002

By 

John C. Rutherford (Missouri) - See all my reviews

This review is from: U.S. Army Photo Album: Shooting the War in Color, 1941-45 USA to ETO (Hardcover)

Rarely do expensive books pan out, but in this case, the "U. S. Army Photo Album" is worth every penny. The volume is loaded with great, crystal clear photographs from the National Archives. Whereas many people say that a picture is worth a thousand words, the excellent commentary provided makes the photographs so much more valuable.

Admirable books like this just don't come off the press every day. First, the photographs are all in color. Second, the subjects covered include U. S. training facilities, demonstrations of equipment used, scenes of American military operations throughout Europe, and unusual units in the field, 1941-1945. It makes one hope that a similarly skilled pair of photographers were assigned to make color photographs for the Pacific theater.

The pages in this book are superb reference material. World War Two veterans, their family, historians, reenactors, and memorabilia collectors will appreciate the high value of this work. Libraries with an interest in American World War II history should consider purchasing this book for their permanent collections as well.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars best book of color WW2 photos yet, June 24, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: U.S. Army Photo Album: Shooting the War in Color, 1941-45 USA to ETO (Hardcover)

There are other books with WW2 color photos, but they have LOTS of caption errors in them. This one does not. I also appreciated that the author took the time to track down the original photographers for their side of the story. Good photo reproductions as well.