Lives of the Great Photographers

It's a pretty good book. Lots of information, but not a large number of representative pictures. I guess you have to decide when writing a book like this, will it be a picture book or a text heavy book. sBut how could they leave out Eisenstadt? He was one of the really great photojournalists.

Christmas gift. Recipient loved it

Love this. Fun reading with excellent research. Very well written. A joy.

Great book with vignettes of many less well know photographers - an excellent starting point for those interested in an overview of the history of photography.

Well written and researched, not comprehensive and gave an excellent sample. Worth having in your library.

As this book has been written by my first daughter, you would expect a glowing review!

I just recently ordered this book and have not been able to put it down since it arrived. I am a photographer, photographs collector, and currently working towards a PhD in art history focusing on photography, so this book definitely appeals to me. I love the way that the book is arranged giving a short and interesting biography for each of 38 great photographers. As stated in the introduction the list is by no means exhaustive, but for the scholar or enthusiast the list includes many familiar names and some pleasant surprises.The book itself is very well made appropriately coinciding with the high quality of the writing and research. The book is so solid if feels like it will last forever. The images are strong reproductions, many of which I have never seen before. The image used in the section on Doisneau is perhaps one of my new favorites.I would recommend this book to anyone interested in art. It is a must have for a photography enthusiast or professional, and is a great addition to any personal library. I am very glad I bought it.

Although I teach a course in the history of photography (with a lives+work format) it has taken me a long time to get round to buying this book. I am glad to have added it to my collection. It contains 38 well-written biographies of famous photographers. Most are 8 or 9 pages long. Each chapter starts with a self-portrait and contains 2 or 3 examples of the work. The biographies give a decent factual account of the life, although sometimes Juliet Hacking seems to overlook really key biographical material. For example, she mentions that Ansel Adams family paid a fortune for a grand piano because he had ambitions of being a concert pianist, but omits mention of the fact that Ansel was so troublesome at his many schools that he ended up home-schooled / more or less an autodidact. This is important not only in his biography but is a pattern that crops up with several other photographers.I like the fact that the selection covers photographers I am less familiar. There is no point listing regrettable omissions (Dorothea Lange, Garry Winogrand, etc.). There are enough omissions to make a brilliant companion volume. The inclusion of Vicountess Hawarden, and Lewis Carroll in a book that does not include Fox Talbot, Daguerre, or Hill and Adamson is simply eccentric. Perhaps to make a point.But it is on the whole a sound and welcome book. If a second volume is published, I will be first in the queue to buy it.

Great introduction to many of the great photographers. Well written and succinct - lots of ideas for who to follow up with a deeper dig.

great product, great delivery and communication - recommended.

I just recently ordered this book and have not been able to put it down since it arrived. I am a photographer, photographs collector, and currently working towards a PhD in art history focusing on photography, so this book definitely appeals to me. I love the way that the book is arranged giving a short and interesting biography for each of 38 great photographers. As stated in the introduction the list is by no means exhaustive, but for the scholar or enthusiast the list includes many familiar names and some pleasant surprises.The book itself is very well made appropriately coinciding with the high quality of the writing and research. The book is so solid if feels like it will last forever. The images are strong reproductions, many of which I have never seen before. The image used in the section on Doisneau is perhaps one of my new favorites.I would recommend this book to anyone interested in art. It is a must have for a photography enthusiast or professional, and is a great addition to any personal library. I am very glad I bought it.