The Great Life Photographers

by LIFE, Gordon Parks

This book represents the work of every LIFE magazine staff photographer from the 20th century, as well as a handful of others closely affiliated with the magazine, including Alfred Eisenstadt, Margaret Bourke-White, Gordon Parks, Eugene Smith, and Joe McNally. THE GREAT LIFE PHOTOGRAPHERS presents the most iconic images of the past century, as well as little-known gems from the LIFE archives. Many of these images are markers of the major milestones of history--the first pictures from inside the womb or from outer space, Robert Capas falling soldier, and memorable scenes from Tiananmen Square. Defining celebrity portraits of Sophia Loren, Marilyn Monroe, the Beatles, and Michael Jackson are also featured. This startingly rich collection of both color and black-and-white photographs is a vivid fulfillment of Henry Luces To see life; to see the world....To be amazed!

Genres: Photography, Art, Nonfiction, Reference, History, Coffee Table Books

608 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2004

About the author

Life was an American magazine published weekly from 1883 to 1972, as an intermittent "special" until 1978, and as a monthly from 1978 until 2000. During its golden age from 1936 to 1972, Life was a wide-ranging weekly general interest magazine known for the quality of its photography.

Reviews

[Joel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wish there was more text and backstory

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great collection of iconic images. It's comprehensive in that there is something included for every photographer who was on staff with LIFE Magazine and includes a brief biographical sketch for each photographer. In some examples of the most famous images there is some background given regarding the subject or the photo shoot itself. This thing I found most frustrating though was so often in the biographical info reference is made to whatever the piece a given photographer is most famous for...and then that image is nowhere to be found. It seemed a cruel tease.

[Lady-R · Rating 5 out of 5]

Creo que éste es un imprescindible en toda colección de amantes de la fotografía y del fotoperiodismo en especial.

Yo compré el libro en tapa blanda, que es algo más pequeño que el de tapa dura, pero el precio es muy barato para la calidad del libro ya que la calidad del papel es bastante buena (qué menos para un libro de fotos). Hay muchas fotos a toda página y cierto es que en una versión más grande lucirían aún más, pero como he dicho, por el precio la verdad es que vale mucho la pena.

El libro contiene pequeñas bios de varios fotógrafos que trabajaron para LIFE y una selección de sus fotos más famosas, algunas que conocemos todos y que forman parte de la historia. Además, sobre algunas de ellas también tenemos pequeñas explicaciones del contexto en el que se tomaron o lo que significaron.

La verdad es que es un libro para hojear y disfrutar a lo largo de la vida.

[Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful, provocative photos of which many I'd never seen before. I enjoyed the biographies of each photographer and found the whole book inspiring.

[chi · Rating 5 out of 5]

My type of Bible.

[Jeremy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The photographers I love more than the rest usually belong to two magazines, National Geographic or Life. After reading the biography of a photographer, it sounds like photojournalists are the same way, they all wanted their work to be in National Geographic or Life magazine.

Great Life Photographers is a collection put together by the editors of Life, and includes a short biography and a collection of photos from every person that contributed photographs to Life magazine. It's a little hard to review the book, the writing is straight facts about each person, and the photos are amazing. Human suffering, shots from around the globe, children, holidays, etc. There are photographs from everywhere and about everything. I'm sure you'd recognize many of them as soon as you open the book.

It's very large, there are eight or more pictures for each person, it took me hours to finish even tough there's a small amount of actual writing. I loved reading the stories of how a picture was created, what had happened right before or right after, and how the photographer managed to stay alive while taking the image. I'd highly recommend it to anyone that's a fan of photography or the history of the art form.

[Eddie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't know when it happened, but some time ago I developed a real fascination and appreciation for photojournalism, so I couldn't help myself from buying this book. This book showcases some of the best work from almost all photographers for LIFE magazine. The pictures range from the 1930s to the most recent being sometime around the year 2000.

There are so many beautiful images in here covering everything from war to politics to celebrities and people's ordinary lives. Some of the most famous photographs in the world are here, from Milton Greene's photos of Marilyn Monroe to Alfred Eisenstaedt's picture of the soldier and nurse kissing in Times Square and Philippe Halsman's photographs of Dalí. What's more, the layout is simple with the photographs being left to speak for themselves and almost all of the photographs are given their own individual pages so you can see them clearly.

[Tom Romig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mine was one of the many families that subscribed to Life, so it's not surprising that many of these photos are familiar to me. The range of the magazine is truly remarkable: politics, fashion, war, ordinary life, world events, religion, sports, education, civil rights, and so much more. Was America better when our information sources were far fewer than they are now? But even back in the day, though a handful of weekly magazines and three TV networks dominated, there were many other smaller publications and many local outlets, not to mention the powerful influence of ethnic, religious, and special interest groups. My feeling is the more the better. Sure, the crazies now have more outlets, but they were always there and, along with Shakespeare, one hopes that truth will out.

P.S. I would have given this five stars had the book been in the original large format of Life.

[Joshua Cope · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great examples from past photojournalists. During my studies, it helped me realise that that these photographers weren't trying to 'reinvent the wheel' but instead refine it and develop it. Thai inspired me to study their work, adapt it and then refine it for the foundations of my own photographs

[David Ward · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Great LIFE Photographers by the Editors of LIFE Magazine (Bulfinch Press 2004) (779.990982) (3766).

This is a collection of famous LIFE Magazine photographs which pays homage to the photographers who were either made famous by the images they shot for LIFE or who brought their fame to the magazine with them.

Either way, many of these photos are instantly recognizable, and many of the photographers are considered to be heroes in their fields. It is convenient to have the creators honored in such a powerful collection.

I own a used HB copy that I purchased for $0.25 in like-new condition from McKay’s Books on 6/1/22.

My rating: 7/10, finished 4/11/23 (3766).

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

[Sara Leacock · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a collection of paragraph-length summaries of different LIFE photographers life and work followed by a number of their most important photographs. A truly beautiful collection of moments.

[Ясен В. · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredible monster of a book of who's who in LIFE's archives. Surely a book I'll flip through in the years to come. The paragraphs accompanying the photos shed some light on the photographers' lives.

[Azfar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this. I'm glad I bought a copy. Life looked so different in the early-/mid-20th century. The bios were also nice to read. Pretty much every talented, accomplished photographer with an iconic image to their name had to start from somewhere and worked their way up.

[Andy · Rating 5 out of 5]

To me, this is what photography is about.

[Hannu Kokko · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic shots of the 20th century. Wide variety of styles.

[Brendan Mansfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

great photos & short bio's of wide variety of interesting photographers.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many infamous photographs included.
A wonderful celebration of such historical moments in the world.

[Lenore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting book introducing the photographers for Life and featuring some of their photos. 604 pages of beautiful work.

[claire shu]

war propaganda

[Anton Klink · Rating 5 out of 5]

A display of the best photographers of one of the best photo journals in the world, this book is full of evocative, excellent, real life photos. No setups, no elaborate lighting and no posing - people photographed in their natural habitats, with many of the resulting photos full of raw emotion.

Some of the pictures are repeated from "Life: The Platinum Anniversary Collection", but whereas the latter gave us more backstories for some of the photos and presented those photos in a larger format, this book contains the backstories of the photographers behind the photos and presents us with a lot more photos in total.

The photos cover a whole range of noteworthy subjects - from Hollywood stars to the depression era jobless, from soldiers in the trenches to generals in the command centre, from artists with their easels to children playing in the streets and much more. The pictures are not only aesthetically pleasing, but also transport us back in time and give us a glimpse of life back then. The period covered in this book is some of the most tumultuous in recent history (from the 30s to the 60s), so bringing the images and emotions back to life from that era lets us appreciate all the sacrifices people had to make (both in war and at home) so that we today could have a better life.

The minor downside of the book is the fact that it attempts to cover all the staff photographers who ever worked for "Life". Unfortunately the contribution of some is not very noteworthy and thus could easily have been left out. Then again, few pages are dedicated to them and conversely, some of the more prominent photographers get over a dozen pages to display their work, so this is only a minor quibble.

If you are at all a student of recent history, an armchair time traveller and appreciate real life emotionally charged photography, this book is highly recommended.

[Sharon Barrow Wilfong · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here is another fantastic book about the same photographers from Life. This one has more of a focus on the photographers' work, accompanied by a brief biography for each. Since there was no need for the men and women to be alive (as in Life: What they Saw, which focused on interviews), far more photographers are covered, as well as their work.

This work has less essays and more photography, but the visuals tell such a graphic story, spanning most of the last century.

I consider this an essential book for anyone interested in documentary photography, especially covering the major wars of the last century up to the nineties.

Also included, are main historical figures as well as quite a few celebrities, especially during the golden era of Hollywood.

[Madison Redington · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is absolutely an inspiring book, especial for people interested and passionate about visual art. The photography in it is stunning and the shots captured are intriguing and a great history lesson in one picture. The addition of a small biography of each photographer next to the picture is great because it allows the reader to get an idea of who is behind the art and their background stories. This is one of my go to books for photographic inspiration; I am into photography and I am pursuing a career in film. Such a great book and entertaining to look through.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gem of a book, perfect both as a gift to photographers and photography lovers, and as gorgeous book to read or browse through time and time again.

Don't expect much technical information. But as a thick reference book of superb photography to enjoy and learn from, this is one of the best books on the market (not just for photojournalists).

[Kayla · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a total photography freak! This book is awesome. The pictures shown throughout the book represent some of this nation's most defining moments and also includes lesser known shots of these moments. It truly is a wonderful collection. I never get tired of looking at it!

[Rebecca]

While "reading" is only loosely construed I did read the text and looked at almost every picture. It was, honestly, pretty stunning. Photos, which I grew up disliking, now seem so quaint and old-fashioned.

[Michel B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Needless to say, simply sensational photographs. Brief and interesting blurbs on the photographers. Interesting commentary on a select few seminal photographs.

Wish I had a couple hundred dollars - I'd buy up a dozen copies for the students in my class.

[Amanda Tranmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed the format... bio pic and short bio of the photographer set next to some of their most memorable photos taken, sometimes with a little extra description and/or history thrown in. Great coffee table book. Surprisingly, a good read as well.

[Rajesh · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is a collection of some excellent images captured by Life Photographers. A worthy collection ...

[Nate · Rating 4 out of 5]

fantastic book. offers brief bios of all the life photographers on staff and occasionally some background behind their most famous photos. wish it offered even more background.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stunning images some very moving images in this book and wonderful commentary on the images.