Still Available New?

Floating around aimlessly on Amazon yesterday looking at photobooks, I was surprised to find that Larry Burrows: Vietnam is still in print. I thought it became unavailable long ago. Larry Burrows—an Englishman—was, as you probably know, perhaps pre-eminent among the photographers who died covering the war in Viet Nam (pre-eminent as a photographer, I mean; they are all equals in their sacrifice).

Longtime readers will also remember that a photograph of Burrows' Leica by Ronen Zilberman is perhaps the most poignant picture ever made of a camera. (It's probably one of the cameras he's wearing below, in fact.)

The book I have is Larry Burrows: Compassionate Photographer, which really is long out of print. The picture below, reproduced alone on a page approximately the size you see it here, is the last picture in that one.

Larry Burrows, Feb. 7, 1971

Mike

Send this post to a friend

Featured Comment by David: "Mike, I have the book—Vietnam—I bought it new several years ago. It's a big book so it does the pictures justice. And I can remember as clear as day the feeling of almost disbelief when I first looked at the photographs—that someone could compose, expose and make photographs of that quality in those rapid-moving conditions. The book is in storage back in J., so I can't check it and I don't recall the name of the sequence that covered the death of the man in the helicopter gunship. [The man is Crew Chief James Farley—the story is called "Yankee Papa 13." —MJ] I mention that because I think a lot of people think of that sequence when they think of Larry Burrows' pictures. But in fact it is the colour photographs that grabbed me the most. They seemed to have been taken by someone who had all the time in the world to get all the elements right, and who had a master's eye for knowing what the scene would translate to in two dimensions. Quite apart from his skill as a photographer I have a soft spot for him—as I suspect many do. For what it is worth, he and Werner Bischof are the two photographers who have enriched my life with their photographs."

Featured Comment by Mike Hess: "When I started out assisting a wedding photographer, it was for the experience (i.e., no pay). However, he did give me a great Christmas gift which was this book. It was the first real photography book (other than how-to) that I ever owned. It contains some of the most hauntingly beautiful images. The romanticized ideal of the war photographer is probably Burrows' fault. If it wasn't for marriage and common sense, I honestly probably would have tried to become one."

Comments

[John W. MacDonald]

Thanks to LIFE photos uploaded to google.com we can now see a treasure trove of Larry Burrows' photos online.

http://images.google.com/images?um=1&hl=en&newwindow=1&safe=off&q=source%3Alife+larry+burrows

[Mike Budd]

Thanks for pointing this out. Coincidentally, I searched for this book yesterday, hoping to buy. Looks like I can get a used copy for about what would have been a weeks pay for one of these guys.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0679456570/ref=dp_olp_new?ie=UTF8&condition=new

[chuck kimmerle]

I happen to have a copy of the book, "Requiem", that Mike Budd linked to earlier and cannot recommend it enough....although I paid retail for it years ago, not the exorbitant used prices listed now. Seeing all of those Vietnam war photos by photographers who were killed, from both sides, is incredibly sobering.

Even more sobering is the listing of one particular North Vietnamese photographer who was not only killed in the war, but whose work was completely lost. Not a single photograph is known to exist. Is there any sadder end result for a photographer?

[Hendrik]

The Requiem Book is featured extensively here on TheDigitalJournalist http://www.digitaljournalist.org/issue9711/req1.htm - the sound files do not work on my pc, but the pictures and accompanying articles were worth it.

[Lambert]

"The picture below, reproduced alone on a page approximately the size you see it here, is the last picture in that one."

Mike, the picture size would vary depending upon the screen resolution one uses. The image itself is a certain number of pixels in height and width. Higher screen resolutions (in pixels per inch) would mean a smaller image; lower resolutions would result in a larger image. The image size on the screen can vary widely.

[Steve Rosenbch]

For me, this brave photographer will always call to mind his photo of Marine Gunnery Sergent Jeremiah Purdue, himself injured, reaching out to a more seriously-injured marine after a bloody firefight to retain Hill 484.

http://www.yale.edu/terc/democracy/may1text/images/BurrowsVietnam.jpg

Burrows captured in one image both the horrors of war (the hellish mud, the wounded marine, half-sitting and looking almost crucified) as well as the heroism and compassion of our Marines, exemplified by Gunny Purdue.

[Jim Hart]

Oh...maybe not so much on this one, Mike. I've enough Vietnam photos already...ones I took. Not in the same class, and not worthy of publication, of course...I gotta tell ya, it wasn't anywhere near as much fun as the photos in Burrows' book would lead you to believe at first blush.

(But I did place a little Amazon order tonight, trying to beat the rumored price increase on Nikon gear, and used your link;)

[Dan K]

Larry Burrow's B&W portrait was displayed in the Vietnam war museum in Ho Chi Minh City when the curators had a special gallery dedicated to the portraits of every war photographer who served in both sides of the conflict.

Dan K.

[Mikal Grass]

I have both Requiem and the Larry Burrows book. There is another book details the lives and photos of the North Vietnamese photographers and the hardships they had to go through to get their film back to Hanoi. It is a fascinating book. When I get home I will post the name of the book.

[Michael Johnston]

Mikal,
I think you're referring to "Another Vietnam" by Tim Page and Douglas Niven. I've never seen it, though.

Mike J.

[Mikal Grass]

Mike,

Yes, it is called Another Vietnam. It is a beautiful book.

[Valerian A.]

Larry Burrows' photographs are some of the most haunting war photographs ever. During my college days, I pored over the library books of his photographs over and over. To this day, I can't let those images go.

[Mikal Grass]

Vietnam Inc. by Griffiths is also a good and informative read.

[NY wedding photographers]

you know is was shot by Larry the second you see it