The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! 😌
mdettmann's review against another edition
3.0
I thought this was a fascinating topic for a YA nonfic, but man was it kind of boring. Like really boring. It hooked me with the prologue and then ended on a high note, but I felt like I was reading a history textbook. Great photographs though. I could have just looked at those with more detailed captions and been fine.
kiperoo's review against another edition
5.0
Excellent book about this amazing couple. Includes many of their fantastic photographs.
annebennett1957's review against another edition
4.0
Excellent if not a bit too lengthy. The book with all of its b/w photos and heavy text is heavy in weight, too. Has a detailed appendix, epilogue, end notes, image credits. Students may not know much about the Spanish Civil War but will be interested in how photojournalism got started.
lazygal's review against another edition
2.0
Robert and Cornell Capa (along with their mother) are buried in my Meeting's cemetery, and I've been involved in creating some signage explaining who they were and why they're there. So a book about him and his contribution to our understanding of war? Yes, please. The Spanish Civil War is one of those "I think I understand it... but it's incredibly confusing" events, and this book does a decent job of explaining the various factions and what happened. For that, two stars.
However the book itself? So problematic. Starting with, why present tense? It's an odd choice for non-fiction about the past. The framing device of D-Day doesn't work well and could easily have been done without (although the part about Capa's post-Spanish Civil War career needed to be told). Some people, like Capa's mentor, are paid short shrift, while others are hinted at (there's a couple mentioned on page 180 that are never named, but there's a hint that these are Important People). And Appendix C, the one with the comparison to the Syrian Civil War? My head hurt. There were other things that were problems that might be changed by publication, like failing to credit the photos on each page (were they Capas? Taros? someone else?). I could go on, but then I'd need another drink.
ARC provided by publisher.
However the book itself? So problematic. Starting with, why present tense? It's an odd choice for non-fiction about the past. The framing device of D-Day doesn't work well and could easily have been done without (although the part about Capa's post-Spanish Civil War career needed to be told). Some people, like Capa's mentor, are paid short shrift, while others are hinted at (there's a couple mentioned on page 180 that are never named, but there's a hint that these are Important People). And Appendix C, the one with the comparison to the Syrian Civil War? My head hurt. There were other things that were problems that might be changed by publication, like failing to credit the photos on each page (were they Capas? Taros? someone else?). I could go on, but then I'd need another drink.
ARC provided by publisher.
brandinh's review against another edition
4.0
Once again Aronson, this time in collaboration with his wife, has delivered a well-researched, engaging, and enlightening historical narrative. This title boasts an abundance of primary sources and a generous amount of back matter including a cast of characters, timeline, bibliography, and index. Highly recommended for middle and high school libraries.
stenaros's review against another edition
3.0
Read for Librarian Book Group
The story of Robert Capa and Gerda Taro, this is a fine example of an exploration of how artists influence each other. Â It was a little slow, but ultimately rewarding. Â The photos, fonts and layouts are quite nice.
The story of Robert Capa and Gerda Taro, this is a fine example of an exploration of how artists influence each other. Â It was a little slow, but ultimately rewarding. Â The photos, fonts and layouts are quite nice.
nemappelezpasnono's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
informative
sad
fast-paced
3.0
A bit too much in the narrative department.
nerfherder86's review against another edition
5.0
Amazing nonfiction book about the Spanish Civil War and the dawn of photojournalism, told through the life stories of the two important photographers who in documenting the former invented the latter. Also a love story and a book about the beauty of collaboration. Fantastic! I studied photography a little in college, but I am sad that I'd never heard of Gerda Taro before. Perhaps I'd just forgotten what I once knew about her, but it can't have been much because everything I read in this book was new to me. It is nicely designed, with many many photographs as well as magazine layouts showing Capa and Taro's work and how the new style of photojournalism began to be used to strikingly report on world news. I also hadn't known much about the Spanish Civil War, apparently, other than a few hazy notions of Hemingway and Guernica, and somebody named Franco, so this book was fascinating and quite eye-opening in its clear explanations of all of the nuanced politics and movements involved. I especially appreciated the appendices (I know, only true history geeks and academics read the appendices! But trust me, these are *interesting*!) and authors' note about why they came to write the book. When I learned that Aronson and Budhos are married, it made the story so much deeper for me, and accentuated the passion and tragedy of Capa and Taro's relationship. I picked up this book wanting to read more about what I thought I'd already known something about, photojournalism, but ended up discovering so much more about World War II history and Spanish history, as well as feeling very impressed by this dynamic artistic couple, who lived so vibrantly and daringly and paved the way for future photojournalists to share important stories with the world.
nairam1173's review against another edition
4.0
I didn't realize until reading the afterward(s) that this book was the product of the same couple who wrote /Sugar Changed the World/. Knowing that, I can see some of the similarities--moralizing still a bit intact, but definitely not insufferable this time--but mostly I'm surprised and happy at how much /more/ I liked this one.
One of my favorite aspects is not only did I get the stories of Robert Capa and Gerda Taro and their photojournalism, but the conflicts that this photojournalism was born in. I know next to nothing about the Spanish Civil War--partly because I'm not well-versed in twentieth century history, but also, I'm sure, because it is swallowed and overshadowed by World War II.
So even though I knew some of the players--fascism, communism, the Soviet Union and Stalin, Germany and Hitler--this story was always breaking new ground for me, whether focusing on its human stars, their photos, or the conflicts they photographed. Also, the way the book comes to a close is breathtaking: exactly the kind of small pieces of history, lost and found, that I love to hear about.
Fascinating all around, well-presented (superb, large photographs) and organized, and told with great passion and empathy.
One of my favorite aspects is not only did I get the stories of Robert Capa and Gerda Taro and their photojournalism, but the conflicts that this photojournalism was born in. I know next to nothing about the Spanish Civil War--partly because I'm not well-versed in twentieth century history, but also, I'm sure, because it is swallowed and overshadowed by World War II.
So even though I knew some of the players--fascism, communism, the Soviet Union and Stalin, Germany and Hitler--this story was always breaking new ground for me, whether focusing on its human stars, their photos, or the conflicts they photographed. Also, the way the book comes to a close is breathtaking: exactly the kind of small pieces of history, lost and found, that I love to hear about.
Fascinating all around, well-presented (superb, large photographs) and organized, and told with great passion and empathy.