Product Description

The definitive retrospective of one of Britain's leading photographers, and arguably the greatest recorder of conflict in the latter 20th century. The book opens and ends in the Somerset landscape that surrounds McCullin's home, but the whole sequence of photographs encompasses a ravaged northern England, war in Cyprus, Biafra, Vietnam, Cambodia and Beirut, as well as riots in Derry and famine in Bangladesh. The climax of the book is among the cannibals and tribespeople deep in the jungles of Irian Jaya, where the photographer focuses on humanity in an almost Stone Age condition. The introduction by Harold Evans is drawn from his long experience of working with Mccullin. The novelist and essayist Susan Sontag has contributed an essay on McCullin and the role of witness to conflict.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #77603 in Books
• Published on: 2003-08-21
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 296 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
The title of this compilation of photographs says it all. Don McCullin is the definitive collection of the 20th century's most revered war photographer. McCullin's work, right at the heart of some of the most dangerous killing fields in recent decades, has defined the pity of war for a generation. The front cover photograph captures much of what defines his work. A close-up of a shell-shocked US Marine, taken in Vietnam in 1968, portrays a dramatic moment of supreme human emotion under maximum distress, captured with McCullin's incredible compassion and empathy. However, as Harold Evans, McCullin's old boss and former editor of the Sunday Times points out in his introduction, "most of the photographs here have exciting or emotional stories attached to them, but many are distinguished, too, by composition, the compelling mood achieved by sombre lighting, and their sensitivity for the subjects". These include McCullin's remarkable early photographs of urban deprivation and gangland life in London in the late 1950s, and the late, haunting landscapes of Somerset that start and end the collection.

The other chapters bring together McCullin's finest work from Cyprus (1964-65), The Congo (1964-66), Vietnam (1965-68), Biafra (1968-70), Derry (1971), Cambodia (1970-75) and Beirut (1976-82). There are some truly horrifying pictures of these conflicts, whose impact is strengthened by deadpan captions: "Murdered man, shot through the brain, Stanleyville, 1964", "A sixteen-year old mentally handicapped boy. The doctor laughed at him. Biafra, 1968", "Dying Cambodian paratrooper hit by the same mortar shell that hit McCullin, Cambodia, 1970". In her introductory essay Susan Sontag argues that McCullin's extraordinary images are "an invitation to pay attention, to reflect, to learn, to examine the rationalisations for mass suffering offered by established powers". In Don McCullin we have one of the most shocking and compassionate chroniclers of mass suffering, who remains as relevant today as ever before. --Jerry Brotton

From the Publisher
The definitive retrospective of the whole career of one of the greatest British photographers.

About the Author
Don McCullin grew up in north London. He worked for the Sunday Times for eighteen years and covered every major conflict in his adult lifetime until the Falklands war. The finest British photojournalist of his generation, he has received many honours and awards including the C.B.E. His home is in a Somerset village.

Customer Reviews

Stunning images
I had been aware of McCullin's renown Vietnam images and would have bought a book only for those images, themselves worthy of a dedicated publication. The key for this book is the many varied subject areas that demonstrate what a fantastic artist he is.

The images are simple, powerful, captivating and thought provoking. Taking every day subjects and people and capturing them in this way should serve as an inspiration to any budding reportage photographer.

You are left with more questions than answers in many cases and with a stark represntation of reality in others that can leave you somewhat uncomfortable.

A compelling set of inmages.

A Photographic Tour de Force
Don McCullin is one of the greatest photographers of our time and this 295-page book beautifully reproduces Mr. McCullin's work. The book includes stunning black and white images of England, Checkpoint Charlie in Berlin, Cyprus, Biafra, Vietnam, Cambodia, Beirut and Bangladesh. For example, the book contains (at page 90) an exceptionally moving photograph of a Turkish woman discovering the body of her new husband, killed with his brother and father in Cyprus in 1964. On the lighter side of life, the book includes gorgeous landscapes of Scotland. And the size of the images is large enough to really do them justice. I highly recommend this book.

Make a space on your bookcase
I saw a McCullin exhibition at the V&A a few years ago and was blown away by his work. At the time there were very few books available which did his work justice. This book (although still only dipping into his huge portfolio) is a vast improvement - large images which does them more justice and a comprehensive overview of the many projects and assignments McCullin has shot. Any student of photography should own this book from one of the world greatest photographers.