Autobiography [Anglais] [Relié]

I'm a great admirer of Mr. Newton so I read this chatty memoir with relish. Born in Berlin of Jewish parents, he has lived in and travelled to many places in his career as a fashion photographer. Although obviously a perfectionist when it comes to his art, Mr. Newton doesn't appear to take himself too seriously, a great attribute for one so talented as he.

Mr. Newton's life has not always been fun and games, however. He understands the horrors of Nazi Germany from first-hand experience and spent time during World War II in an internment camp for Nazis in Australia because he was a German. Never mind that he was a despised Jew and hated Hitler as much as the Allies did.

The last third of the book is entitled "Part II: The Photographs." Here Newton shows and discusses many of his now easily recognizable images. There is no particular order to this section. There is one photograph that he calls "pornographic", in case you are interested. And we learn that he hates the PR people who surround famous actresses. I doubt that anyone would be suprised to learn that tidbit.

If you are looking for a good collection of Newton's work, you should buy any of the books that are collections of his fine photographs printed on high quality paper. (I own his book of portraits, one of my favorite photography books.) The paper here is so-so, and the photographs are not identified on the pages where they are reproduced. While this is customary in fine art books, at least the many photographs from Newton's own life that accompany the text should be captioned. I understand that this is probably the fault of the publisher and not Newton's, however.

If you are a fan of this great photographer, as I am, you will enjoy this book thoroughly.

The only annoying part was having to constantly switch to the back of the book to read the photo illustrations.