From Publishers Weekly
Bringing together the work of 10 extraordinary photographers, this master's class on war photography includes more than 150 b&w and color photos, annotated with descriptions of their subjects and with very personal reflections from practitioners like magazine contract photographers James Nachtwey (Time) and Ron Haviv (Newsweek) about the nature of their work. A former war photographer in Northern Ireland and El Salvador, Howe, in his illustrated introductory essay, offers first-hand knowledge of the addictive nature of violence and the voyeurism inherent in the business. And as former picture editor for the New York Times Magazine and director of photography for Life, he is also able to lay bare the mechanism by which an image tells a story. The featured photographers then join the chorus one by one. Haviv says the work is "completely selfish," in that it takes him into the history of a country, but he also talks about the role of war photography in helping people. MacArthur Fellowship winner Susan Meiselas explains: "I don't have any doubt that what propels you into these powerful situations is the feeling that whatever you're bringing home is evidence of something of tremendous significance." Her photographs of the execution of Maryknolls nuns in San Salvador are now part of the civil case filed against two members of the government at the time. On the whole, the images-of murders, torture, ruins, hooded paramilitary militias, dead soldiers and civilians, burning vehicles, scarred victims, fleeing refugees-are brutal. At the same time, the stories these photographers tell, and the images they republish here, focus the world's attention on war's atrocities at a crucial moment.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Adult/High School-An introduction and brief history of war photography precede individual observations by "ten of the most famous living photographers," male and female, that convey both the horrors and the highs associated with their profession. The contributors speak of the fear, shame, and other emotional obstacles to taking a specific shot ("How can I photograph this? How can I not?"), and of the guilt they feel at being able to escape the violence and suffering they witness. More than 150 black-and-white and color photos taken in Vietnam, Nicaragua, Biafra, Beirut, Belfast, etc.-some that cannot be viewed without wincing-accompany the pieces. Repeatedly, the contributors express a need to understand conflict and to make events known in the hope that they are not only documenting history but also helping to change it. With world events continuing to provide abundant subject matter, readers of Howe's book are reminded that, allowed unfettered access, combat photographers "are among civilization's best allies."
Dori DeSpain, Fairfax County Public Library, VA
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
A pall hangs over this selection of the lacerating work and engrossing words of 10 foremost war photographers. That cloud precipitates not from war's violence and death but from the understanding that the war photographer is an endangered species. In Chechnya, whose rebellion Patrick Chauvel and Laurent Van Der Stockt in particular have covered, the chances of being held hostage are now such that neither will go there again. Several of the 10 think Israel has become so leery of photographers that it condones having them shot, as Van Der Stockt was. Catherine Leroy posits unofficial U.S. censorship when she says, "No American magazine ever shows a photograph of Palestinians in their camps being wounded or shot by the Israeli army." Howe, former photography director of Life, reports that the U.S. now tries to severely restrict the number and mobility of photographers of conflicts in which U.S. forces are involved. But every war photographer denied is a witness suppressed--of that Howe and his subjects, whatever else they think of their work, are sure. Ray Olson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
About the Author
Peter Howe has served as picture editor for The New York Times Magazine, director of photography for LIFE magazine, and vice president of photography and creative services for Corbis. He is a regular contributor to The Digital Journalist, American Photo, Columbia Journalism Review, and USA Today and advises independent photo agencies and photographers on digital organization, storage, and licensing of their work. A native of London, Howe lives in New York City with his wife.
