Blood and Champagne: The Life of Robert Capa

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Alex Kershaw

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Pages: 320 (Paperback)

ISBN: 0330492500

Pub: Pan Books

Pub date: 2003-04-04

Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 148877

Editorial Review:

"It does seem to me that Capa has proved beyond all doubt that the camera need not be a cold mechanical device" John Steinbeck wrote of photojournalist Robert Capa in a quote that launches Blood and Champagne, a well-written, exhaustively researched biography. "Like the pen, it is as good as the man who uses it. It can be the extension of mind and heart." That's quite a compliment coming from an author of Steinbeck's calibre, but then Capa won the respect and friendship of some of the brightest talents of his generation; other admirers and poker buddies included Ernest Hemingway and John Huston, and among his many loves was actress Ingrid Bergman. Capa won fame slogging through the blood and grime to capture vivid images of five different wars, from the Spanish Civil War (where he wasn't above staging some of his photographs), through the landings at Omaha Beach on D-Day (which he chronicled for Life magazine as the only journalist to wade ashore with the first wave of G.I.s), to the early days of the Vietnam conflict (where he was killed in action at the age of 41 while covering the French army, soon to be replaced with disastrous results by the Americans).

Another great writer, John Hersey, famously dubbed the swarthy chain-smoking photographer "the Man Who Invented Himself", and author Alex Kershaw contends that one of his greatest achievements was the legend that he created for himself. A California journalist who contributes to The Guardian and The Sunday Times Magazine, among others, Kershaw brings Capa and his times to life with bright, vivid writing and telling anecdotes, using a fascinating personal odyssey to put the man's professional accomplishments in to perspective. "Capa was the first photographer to make photojournalism appear glamorous and sexy", he writes. Of course, that distinction and all others take a back seat to the photos themselves, and this book's only shortcoming is that it does not include any examples of the great man's work. --Jim DeRogatis, Amazon.com

Reader Reviews:

Sloppy research: 'La Paquena Rubena' (0/0 people found this helpful)

An interesting read. However, one piece of sloppy research on Mr Kershaw's part is this rather puzzling title for chapter six. On page 55 Mr Kershaw says that Gerda was "now widely known as 'la Paquena Rubena' (the little red fox)"...

In Spanish, 'little red fox' is actually 'la pequeña zorra roja' or 'la zorrita roja'. I believe that Mr Kershaw got his wires severely crossed somewhere because other publications claim Gerda was affectionately called 'la pequeña rubia' which, in actual fact, means 'the little blonde'. What's more, the word 'zorra' in Spanish, when used to describe a woman, is pejorative sexist slang meaning 'whore' or 'slut'. Somehow, I don't think Gerda was referred to as 'the little red whore' by her many admirers. I wonder if the words 'paquena rubena' actually mean anything in ANY language (?).

Romantic and Inspiring read (6/7 people found this helpful)

Once you start this book you will not be able to put it down. Fortunately it does not go into too much depth about irrelevant childhood details as most biographies do. Instead it concentrates what mattered to Capa. He saw so many horrific things and watched first hand history in the making and managed to take some amazing photos in the process. This book describes what he was like as a person, he was certainly no saint but you can't help liking him...If you feel like being inspired read this!

The 20th Century's finest photojournalist (6/7 people found this helpful)

The life of Robert Capa is truly fascinating. Born in Budapest in 1913, he was to die forty years later in Vietnam after establishing himself as one of the great photojournalists of the 20th Century. He captured on film some of the most memorable pictures in the Spanish Civil War, including the iconic “The Falling Soldier.” A shameless propagandist for the Republican cause, he thought nothing of having combatants “pose” for some of his most dramatic pictures - including, many think, “The Falling Soldier.” Did the republican soldier fall because he was shot or because he tripped? Was it posed? The jury is still out on that one. A Jew at a time when anti-Semitism was rife in Europe, he became a committed anti-fascist and socialist. He established the photographers’ co-operative, Magnum, in order that photographers had control over their own photographs and earnings. This was not so different to the kibbutzim established in Israel by highly idealistic settlers whom he so admired. Needless to say, Capa was there to record the birth of the fledgling state of Israel in 1948 and caught on film that nation's birth pains as it battled with its Arab neighbours. War was his medium, even though he hated it. He went over in a landing craft to photograph the D-Day landings and produced some of the most memorable pictures of battle ever taken. This was despite that most of the pictures were ruined during the rushed processing in London and some of those that survived are out of focus.

Capa was talented, generous, humorous, and charismatic. An inveterate gambler, he played poker with the likes of John Huston and Ernest Hemmingway, and inevitably lost. Like most people who don’t care about money, money problems plagued him. Highly sexed, he counted some of the most beautiful women of the age amongst his lovers, including Ingrid Bergman. When lovers were not immediately available, he contended himself with prostitutes. Loving and loved in return, he was too much of a bohemian to commit himself to a permanent relationship. He could have been rich, but he never was. He could have happily married, but he never did.

Capa’s luck ran out when he went to Vietnam in 1953 to cover the war between the French and the Vietnamese and trod on a landmine.

Alex Kershaw deserves credit for producing such a well-written and researched autobiography.

great read (6/8 people found this helpful)

Buy it now and have a wonderful romantic, thrilling , heartbraking few days - you won't be able to put it down.

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