From Publishers Weekly
Whelan ( Robert Capa ), who sorted through some 70,000 negatives to select the 130 duotone images included here, found that children constitute a major theme in the war photographs of Robert Capa (1913-1954), known for his contributions to Life magazine. Cornell Capa, the photographer's brother, writes, "A child of peace was for Robert a child who was spared the horrors of war, a child whose peace had been won at a terrible cost, a child whose happiness was therefore all the more precious." This collection turns a sympathetic, apolitical eye on children caught up in the instability of Europe, America and the Far East between 1933 and 1954. Capa's subjects express curiosity, delight, solemnity and confusion; they react to patriotic parades and air battles, flee their homes as enemy troops approach, play during times of uneasy peace. Powerful and unsentimental, this volume captures the unself-conscious spontaneity of children.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
This selection of photographs presents another dimension of a photographer best known for his images of the intensity of deadly combat. The photographs capture brief glimpses of children fleeing bombs during an air raid, playing among rubble, and otherwise struggling to cope with the upheaval of war. That they are often quiet images, seemingly made during pauses in battle, only heightens their poignancy. We see how these children responded individually to devastation, particularly how they struggled to restore some semblance of normalcy and comfort to lives shattered by conflict. Because of Capa's place in the history of documentary photography, the careful selection and arrangement of the photographs, and the technical quality of this book, it will be a welcome addition to most photography collections, particularly in academic and large public libraries. Highly recommended.
- Raymond Bial, Parkland Coll. Lib., Champaign, Ill.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
- Raymond Bial, Parkland Coll. Lib., Champaign, Ill.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
