FREE delivery Tuesday, March 21. Details
Or fastest delivery Monday, March 13. Order within 9 hrs 31 mins. Details
Only 1 left in stock - order soon
[{"displayPrice":"$99.00","priceAmount":99.00,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"99","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"00","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"TJgFvScr%2BIehXQ2foOLqYbzGtuYS1CPvL3yGcwuCCD1kdYHYtme7FGKqvpqU9PM0g7zV%2BKORYJC3rjJcDldNDNEKTXemUV0HzWZdMJPdVBilSrMQp1ATLeKKjhoaOnq4f1Krel5DBfz4nLaaYbSKN%2Bj9PP%2Fw8OdWYDiuhfNy7j%2F1THCcjxQz1efpDf1chCou","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW"},{"displayPrice":"$10.23","priceAmount":10.23,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"10","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"23","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"78VaEOFVk0Fvmozz87jQB5i3%2FNvuMfRcM0pQMexZtqPEufOkdweyX2UIzFK4wiSbwdBt813kj1FGfugktzNAn22VDdqUQ9JEt5l0oGZ%2BVBElQcXp8Lyt6gBtm9EFEuClXMpUwYkXC9M8w4QmoGmNMqxPqZe8rZVLQHteXxwXBl4R%2FcVfhiPxdg%3D%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"USED"}]
$$99.00 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$99.00
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Payment
Secure transaction
Your transaction is secure
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
Ships from
Starbook Store
Sold by
Returns
Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt. You may receive a partial or no refund on used, damaged or materially different returns.
Payment
Secure transaction
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
Ships from
Starbook Store
Sold by
Returns
Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt. You may receive a partial or no refund on used, damaged or materially different returns.
Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime
FREE delivery Wednesday, March 15 if you spend $25 on items shipped by Amazon. Order within 16 hrs 1 min
Used: Good | Details
Sold by KORE Inc.
Condition: Used: Good
Comment: 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed! Ships direct from Amazon!
Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.
Have one to sell?
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club? Learn more
Amazon book clubs early access

Join or create book clubs

Choose books together

Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required. Learn more

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Flip to back Flip to front
Listen Playing... Paused   You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition.
Learn more

Follow the Author

Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Blood and Champagne: The Life and Times of Robert Capa Hardcover – July 25, 2003

4.5 out of 5 stars 87 ratings

Price
New from Used from
Kindle
Hardcover
$99.00
$99.00 $6.09

Enhance your purchase


Check out reading-themed apparel and accessories in the new Amazon Books merch shop

Frequently bought together

  • Blood and Champagne: The Life and Times of Robert Capa
  • +
  • The Liberator: One World War II Soldier's 500-Day Odyssey from the Beaches of Sicily to the Gates of Dachau
Total price:
To see our price, add these items to your cart.
Some of these items ship sooner than the others.
Choose items to buy together.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"It does seem to me that Capa has proved beyond all doubt that the camera need not be a cold mechanical device," John Steinbeck wrote of photojournalist Robert Capa in a quote that launches this well-written, exhaustively researched biography. "Like the pen, it is as good as the man who uses it. It can be the extension of mind and heart." That’s quite a compliment coming from an author like Steinbeck, but then Capa won the respect and friendship of some of the brightest talents of his generation; other admirers and poker buddies included Ernest Hemingway and John Huston, and among his many loves was actress Ingrid Bergman. Capa won fame slogging through the blood and grime to capture vivid images of five different wars, from the Spanish Civil War (where he wasn't above staging some of his photographs), through the landings at Omaha Beach on D-Day (which he chronicled for Life magazine as the only journalist to wade ashore with the first wave of G.I.s), to the early days of the Vietnam conflict (where he was killed in action at the age of 41 while covering the French army, soon to be replaced with disastrous results by the Americans). Born a Hungarian Jew named André Friedmann, another great writer, John Hersey, famously dubbed the swarthy chain-smoking photographer "the Man Who Invented Himself," and author Alex Kershaw contends that one of his greatest achievements was the legend that he created for himself. A California journalist who contributes to The Guardian and The Sunday Times Magazine, among others, Kershaw brings Capa and his times to life with bright, vivid writing and telling anecdotes, using a fascinating personal odyssey to put the man's professional accomplishments in perspective. "Capa was the first photographer to make photojournalism appear glamorous and sexy," he writes. Of course, that distinction and all others take a back seat to the photos themselves, and this book’s only shortcoming is that it does not include any examples of the great man’s work.--Jim DeRogatis

From Publishers Weekly

Robert Capa was the archetype of the intrepid war photographer. Asserting that "if your pictures aren't good enough, you're not close enough," Capa braved combat in the Spanish Civil War, hit Omaha Beach in the first wave on D-Day, and jumped behind German lines with American paratroopers, returning with visceral pictures-like the famous (and possibly staged) "falling soldier" photo of a Spanish Republican militiaman who had just been shot-that defined our idea of what modern war looks like. "Profligate, passionate, impulsive," Capa was a ladies' man who liked nice togs, hobnobbed with the rich and famous, got caught up in anti-Fascist and Popular Front politics, and played poker compulsively when he was not risking his life in combat-in other words, he practically invented the persona of the celebrity photojournalist. He also co-founded the pioneering Magnum photo agency, which gave freelance photographers ownership and control of their photos. Journalist Kershaw gives an engrossing account of Capa's impossibly romantic life, elegantly evoking both the horror of the front lines and the glamour of wartime Madrid, London and Paris, where Capa befriended the likes of Ernest Hemingway and romanced the likes of Ingrid Bergman. Packed with arresting anecdotes and character studies, Kershaw's biography is a worthy companion to Capa's work. Photos.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Thomas Dunne Books; 1st edition (July 25, 2003)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0312315643
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0312315641
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.32 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.4 x 1.19 x 9.68 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 out of 5 stars 87 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Alex Kershaw is a journalist, public speaker and New York Times best-selling author of ten books, including The Liberator - the basis for the Netflix series - The Longest Winter, The Bedford Boys, Avenue of Spies and The First Wave. His next book, Against All Odds, a saga of four Medal of Honor recipients, will be released in May 2022.

Please visit www.alexkershaw.com for more information.

You can also catch up with him and his work on Facebook - BattlesofWW2; Instagram - AlexKershawAuthor; and Twitter - Kershaw_Alex

He blogs at www.alexkershawauthor.com.

PRAISE FOR THE FIRST WAVE

“[A] fast paced tale… Kershaw is at his evocative best describing the chaos, courage, and carnage of combat, vividly portraying the bravery of the ‘greatest generation.’ Even readers well-read on the subject will enjoy this perspective.”—Publishers Weekly

“A masterful retelling of the most dramatic day of World War II—the Allied landings on the beaches of France. In Alex Kershaw’s expert hands, readers will feel the sting of the cold surf, smell the acrid cordite that hung in the air, and duck the zing of machine gun bullets whizzing overhead. The First Wave is an absolute triumph.”—James M. Scott, Pulitzer Prize Finalist and national bestselling author of Target Tokyo and Rampage

“Master storyteller Alex Kershaw brings the key Allied players of D-Day to life once more. He vividly portrays their exploits—Rangers at Pointe du Hoc, French Commandos at Ouistreham, American paratroopers on the Cotentin, and assault troops who hit the Normandy beaches. These pages ooze with the unforgettable human drama of history’s most consequential invasion. Read them and you might even feel as though you were there.”—John C. McManus, author of The Dead and Those About to Die: D-Day—The Big Red One at Omaha Beach

“Meet the assaulters: Pathfinders plunging from the black, coxswains plowing the whitecaps, bareknuckle Rangers scaling sheer rock. Will they secure the landing zone? Wrest the beachhead? Or will that last bridge blow up in their faces? Even if we know how D-Day ends, The First Wave grips with all the power of a first read. Fast-paced and up-close, this is history’s greatest story reinvigorated as only Alex Kershaw can.”—Adam Makos, New York Times bestselling author of Spearhead and A Higher Call

“Alex Kershaw brilliantly brings a new perspective to one of the seminal events of WWII. The First Wave is an awe-inspiring and important book that portrays the blood on the risers, from Captain Frank Lillyman’s airborne pathfinders to Lieutenant George Kerchner’s Rangers and their remarkable assault on the cliffs of Pointe Du Hoc. The sights, sounds, and fury of D-Day are vividly captured in Kershaw’s virtuoso narrative.”—Patrick K. O’Donnell, author of The Unknowns: The Untold Story of America’s Unknown Soldier and WWI’s Most Decorated Who Brought Him Home

“The First Wave is Alex Kershaw’s stirring tribute to the warriors who successfully carried out the largest and most difficult military operations in history 75 years ago. One of the US First Infantry Division NCO’s who survived that desperate day in Normandy later said, ‘You can’t buy valor and you can’t pull heroes off an assembly line.’ Kershaw’s superb account of D-Day and beyond is the story of their amazing courage under fire and how men ranging from a lord of the realm to the humble son of a president answered the call and began the liberation of occupied Europe from Nazi tyranny.”—Carlo D’Este, author of Decision in Normandy and Patton: A Genius for War

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
87 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 28, 2014
11 people found this helpful
Report abuse
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 16, 2019
3 people found this helpful
Report abuse
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 23, 2010
22 people found this helpful
Report abuse
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 19, 2017
3 people found this helpful
Report abuse
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 24, 2018
One person found this helpful
Report abuse
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 3, 2016
5 people found this helpful
Report abuse
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 5, 2022
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 8, 2013
One person found this helpful
Report abuse

Top reviews from other countries

Londoner
5.0 out of 5 stars The definitive Capa biography
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on August 7, 2014
7 people found this helpful
Report abuse
Keith McAllister
5.0 out of 5 stars Loving it!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on March 3, 2018
2 people found this helpful
Report abuse
Mrs. C. Williams
5.0 out of 5 stars A LIFE - AN EARLY DEATH ALSO MOST OF ALL A WONDERFUL WAR REPORTER LEAVING US WITH HIS EXCEPTIONAL BLACK AND WHITE PHOTOGRAH
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on September 27, 2009
3 people found this helpful
Report abuse
KR
5.0 out of 5 stars The Genius of Capa
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on February 1, 2009
One person found this helpful
Report abuse
Kate Lord Brown
5.0 out of 5 stars Come closer
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on March 14, 2014
2 people found this helpful
Report abuse