Editorial Review

Reviews (53)

The photos tell what it was like
This is a book to mourn the mass murders on that day.

Walking from Manhattan to Brooklyn, over the Manhattan bridge, through torrents of horrified people, thousands covered in ash--all deadly silent--this is what it was like. There were no car horns. No one talked. No one laughed. Everyone knew he was lucky.

These photographs tell the story. Never forget.

--Alyssa A. Lappen

The rarest of moments...
This book captures in photographs one of the most terrible acts against the United States in history.The thing that makes this act so evil is that it was committed against people at peace.In all the pictures there is no sign of the perpetrators,no sign of any military ,only the shock and horror on the faces of people who started out their day in peaceful pursuit of their lives.The pictures show that those involved had no idea of what or why this terrible thing was happening.It is hard to think of another event in history that compares.Bad as Pearl Harbor was,the people who were attacked knew who the enemy was and why they were being attacked.This was not the case on 9/11.This is what separates terrorists from an enemy.
What makes this book so good is that it can be quickly turned to every once in a while as a reminder of this day any why the War on Terror must be pursued to end this threat to all people who believe in freedom.This book shows what terrorists are capable of with or without weapons of mass destruction.No other proof is needed.

A superb documentary record of a horrifying day
By some cosmic quirk of fate, the illustrious collective known as Magnum Photographers had one of their big meetings in New York City on Monday, September 10th, 2001.This means, of course, that when the horrific events of Tuesday, September 11th took place, there were dozens and dozens of superbly qualified and talented photographers all over the city.As if by reflex, these brave women and men documented the events of that day.

The photographs get first consideration here.There is text, of course, but the photographs tell the story.It's difficult to look through the book and not feel as though you were there yourself.Witness Steve McCurry's triptych of the second tower coming down, looking for all the world like a dying flower, the smoke almost appearing like drooping petals curving down towards the earth (p. 8).Witness Susan Meiselas' photograph of one of those life-size statues you see hither and yon in Manhattan--this one of a cheerfully smiling businessman seated on a bench, opening up his briefcase to check on something.He is knee-deep in debris, and trees behind and beside him are crushed and bent (p. 30).The juxtaposition perfectly captures the sense of disconnectedness and inability to understand that we all felt that day.Witness Eli Reed's enormously moving photo of a construction worker wielding only a hammer.The man sits on a steel beam, hard hat on, booted feet tucked behind him.When you look beyond his hammer, you see the physical devastation all around him--yet there he sits, hammering as though he will make a difference (p. 104).Witness Gilles Peress' shots of shocked people appearing out of the snowy dust, accompanied by his simple and heartfelt statement: "I don't trust words.I trust pictures" (pp. 46 - 63).

Reviews (10)

From a Vietnam Vet who knew Larry for 2 days in '68
The First Air Cav, along with Burrows and a group of other reporters, was dropped into the hills around the Marine's Combat Base in the Khe Sahn valley. The brass, all the way up to LBJ, were convinced that there were 30,000 North Vietnamese Army (NVA) heard core, well armed and trained regulars surrounding that belegered outpost. The photographers/reporters were in the same bullseye that we were. We all were surprised that the rockets that were roaring in on our firebase didn't seem to phase them in the least.They said that "I can't get any pictures hiding in a hole!" so they didn't start digging their's until just before the sun disappeared.
This book is from one of the bravest and most driven men that I have ever met-- and he inspired me to follow my dream of becoming a photo pro. He had been kissing his wife goodbye in Hong Kong since the start of the insanity and said to me over a warm beer that he hoped he'd live to see the day when he'd cover the closing ceremonies when the war ended. He went down in Laos in a Vietnamese helicopter long before that day came.

His body of work that we are left with is nothing less then perfection but to him they were just his "Normal images", some of which he liked better then others. (He saw himself as a storyteller.)I see them as cutting through the clutter of information overload that is our daily challange and the photographs remain the icons of the era. The sensitivity and empathy that was his 'eye' and style allowed his cameras to give us stories that are nothing less then high art. This was evident even to hard boiled Marine Generals who allowed him access to places that no other media person was ever shown. He instilled trust that was all. His total mastery of the technical limitations of his 35mm boxes made them an extension of his brain. Watching how he held these beautifuly made, but combat hardened, Leicas was a major learning experience for a wanna be Life photog like me. He was very generous with his knowledge of the camera retail shops in Hong Kong. He gave me the name of the manager of his favorite store and how to get the best prices out of him. (I got wounded before I could use the information.) All in all, Larry Burrows left an impression on this soldier of being a throughly nice person. He may have been an icon to the staff at Life and his gaggle of admirers but he treated everyone that he came in contact with as equals. I knew that he would never make it out of Vietnam alive and was saddened to hear of his death 3 years after my short encounter with him. I since have bought every book that has even a mentionn of him. Rest in peace, Larry. Your images will live for ever.

Real stories of war
This book is good. I liked it. I like war books and movies because action is cool! The guns were the old kinds, like M60 machine guns. It was very bloody and contained torture, which seemed very real to me in a gruesome kind of way.

I recommend this book to people who like war stories because it tells the truth about war.

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Well...
You know, somehow I ended up with a free subscription to this magazine, and although I've been getting it for months it hasn't made much of an impression.

It's more balanced between gear and technique than say Popular Photography.However, I'm sitting here trying to conjure up an interesting article from memory, and I'm getting nothing.

Outdoor photography is difficult from an artistic standpoint, but from a technique standpoint there's just not all that much to know.Put your camera on a tripod when you can.Worry about Lens flare.Autofocus is good for rapidly moving animals.Wait for the light.Experiment with fill flash until you find a level that you like.Ho hum.You're not going to find any tips in this magazine on how to bring out the highlights of a B&W photo with farmer's reducer, or anything like that.It's all on the blur-the-waterfall-with-a-slow-shutterspeed kind of level.

Anyways, a beginner might like it for a year or two, so I've given it 3 stars.

Very unbalanced coverage!
If you want a generalized photography magazine that covers protraiture, product, glamour, or wedding/events photo techniques...read the cover before you buy this magazine. If you want a fine instructional magazine devoted to outdoor and travel photography, there may not be a better one in print. Filled with beautiful photos that, more often than not, have details about equipment/settings used to make them and where they were taken. I've been a subscriber for years and will continue.

A How-To Magazine for Creating Cliches
The typical photo magazine aimed at amateurs is 90% about equipment and 10% about art. And that's a very sucessful formula, as most amateur "photographers" are really equipment junkies and not artists.

Outdoor Photographer is more like 50:50 gear and technique. There's still a lot of equipment writing- which tripod, which lens and so forth- but a significant amount of editorial space is devoted to technique as well. Unfortunately most of it is about creating the same stale and hackneyed nature photos that fill the pages of this and other magazines: Heavily filtered, over saturated color images of senic vistas that make for nice posters but say very little about the subject.

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Photographs with the added bonus of good writing
I received National Geographic as a gift because I was getting too old for Ranger Rick. (Quite the jump, I must add).I read my first issue and immediately wanted more.

The pictures, as many have said, are always stunning, and the writing is spectacular.Obviously, such a world-renowned magazine must be spectacular.

My only complaint is that it takes so long to read that, with my busy schedule, I don't ever have time to read anything else.They tend to pile up, but I read them all eventually- I can't bear the thought of just putting an unread issue straight into the rack with the read ones.It really is fantastic and makes a great Bar or Bat Mitzvah gift.

A fantastic publication despite its liberal slant
Now now!Before you get mad at me for my "liberal slant" comment in the title of this review, let me remind you that I also said it's "a fantastic publication.":-) No matter what your political stance on hot button issues such as global warming and oil, you have to admit that National Geographic takes a liberal stance.Is that good or bad?Entirely up to you to decide.But to their credit, they do a VERY fair job, within the articles, of explaining and examining ALL aspects and points of view.

I subscribed because like most of us, I've always been a fan of their photographs, but as they began to arrive in the mail I found myself poring over each and every page, reading every issue from cover to cover.I've learned so many wonderful things about cultures and people I will never get a chance to see in real life, and I've educated myself on issues that otherwise would remain a mystery.

One of the most enjoyable aspects of having a subscription is the inserts that come in almost every issue.My all time favorite thus far has been a composite map of the entire world at night, showing natural gas vents, wild fires, and city lights across the globe.Fascinating!

For the almost embarrassingly low price of $49.00 a year I am more educated, informed, and inspired then I was before I subscribed.