Word: capa
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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THIS BIOGRAPHY WOULD have been a much better book if the author gave some interesting accounts of Capa's misadventures and his enterprising photojournalistic savvy...
Instead, Whelan dwells incessantly on the minute details of Capa's exaggerated tales, correcting almost every fib as he goes along. And in an effort to provide a setting for Capa, the author saturates the reader with the political and social details of Europe from 1913 to 1950. At numerous points in the book, Robert Capa, the man and the photographer, is lost in the torrent of information on war strategies and political twists. Whelan is too long on details and too short on analysis...
Also, the book deals very little with photography and the works of Capa. One would expect at least a little artistic criticism from a biography of supposedly the "greatest war photographer in history," who may be less well-known than the author assumes. Perhaps Mr. Whelan adheres to the school of photography that believes in letting the pictures speak for themselves. But since the book contains precious few photographs taken by Capa, one supposes that the purchase of Mr. Whelan's other book dealing solely with Capa's photographs may be necessary to fully appreciate his biography...
...other major problem with this book should probably not be blamed on the author. The second half of Capa's career as a photojournalist is simply boring compared to the first half. As a result the book inevitably tends to wind down after World War II. Even the account of the Indochinese battles pales beside the colorful accounts of the man's early life...
...work of history, Whelan's account of Robert Capa's life serves admirably, but we feel vaguely cheated by the end. Where is the spice, the variety and glamor which we feel stayed with this man every day of his life? Those who haven't heard Capa legends will just have to go to the photo offices of major newspapers around the world and get them first-hand