Shooting War

Chronicles the changing American perceptions of war, outlining the criteria for truly meaningful photographs and interviewing renowned war photographers, who detail their experiences, their emotions, and their quests for the perfect shot

YA-- Moeller links photography with the American experience of combat from the Spanish American War in Cuba through the Vietnam War. This book will be valuable for students of photography because it not only provides the personal experiences of such famous photographers as Margaret Bourke-White and David Douglas Duncan, but it also gives specific details of some of the most famous pictures of each war. Moeller deals with problems of government censorship that the photographers encountered as well as the extremely dangerous situations they were in as they worked. The book also provides a discussion of the historical contexts of the photos. --Jane Golenko, Pasadena High School, TX
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Photojournalist and historian Moeller has written an exhaustive study of combat photographers and their images from the Spanish-American War to Vietnam. She provides the historical context, relates the experiences and thoughts of photographers at the front line, and analyzes the pictures that were published--discussing along the way military and media censorship of war photography. Her thesis, that combat photography reflected and affected the American perception of each war and of war itself, is strongly supported by clear prose, 40 black-and-white photos, and numerous first-hand accounts by photojournalists. Impressively researched, this is a major contribution to photographic history as well as American history and culture collections.
- Ann Copeland, Drew Univ. Lib., Madison, N.J.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.