What do you think?
Rate this book
James Nachtwey; Civil Wars
James Nachtwey: Der Augenzeuge
Manchal scheint es, als sei der Kriegsfotograf James Nachtwey nicht bloss auf der Jagd nach Bildern von Grauen und Gewalt. Als sei er auch auf der Suche nach einer Begegnung mit dem eigenen Tod.
Manchal scheint es, als sei der Kriegsfotograf James Nachtwey nicht bloss auf der Jagd nach Bildern von Grauen und Gewalt. Als sei er auch auf der Suche nach einer Begegnung mit dem eigenen Tod.
- GenresPhotography
94 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 1998
About the author
James Nachtwey
24 books13 followersJames Nachtwey (born March 14, 1948) is an American photojournalist and war photographer.
He has been awarded the Overseas Press Club's Robert Capa Gold Medal five times and two World Press Photo awards. In 2003, Nachtwey was injured in a grenade attack on his convoy while working in Baghdad, from which he made a full recovery.
Nachtwey has worked with Time as a contract photographer since 1984. He worked for Black Star (1980–1985), was a member of Magnum Photos (1986–2001) and VII Photo Agency (2001–2011) where he was a founding member.
He has been awarded the Overseas Press Club's Robert Capa Gold Medal five times and two World Press Photo awards. In 2003, Nachtwey was injured in a grenade attack on his convoy while working in Baghdad, from which he made a full recovery.
Nachtwey has worked with Time as a contract photographer since 1984. He worked for Black Star (1980–1985), was a member of Magnum Photos (1986–2001) and VII Photo Agency (2001–2011) where he was a founding member.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 19, 2021
Afghanistan 1996
Review of the Stern Magazine Portfolio paperback (1998)
The recent (August 2021) re-takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban led me to take another look at photojournalist James Nachtwey's views of Afghanistan towards the end of the Afghan Civil War (1992-1996) when the Taliban first came to rule the country. James Nachtwey: Civil Wars was an early (Issue #6) publication of the German language Stern Magazine's Portfolio Bibiothek der Fotographie limited edition series which published quarterly from 1996 to 2014.
Civil Wars includes an introductory article "Der Augenzeuge" (The Eyewitness) by Hans-Hermann Klare with an initial portfolio of Nachtwey's work documenting conflicts and famines in Somalia (1992), Bosnia (1993), Sudan (1993), Rwanda (1994), Zaire (1994), and Chechnya (1995-1996) from pages 3 to 27. This is followed by the central portfolio with the epigram "Die Gotteskrieger haben uns in Afghanistan lebendig Begraben" - (Malalai, Ärztin in Kabul) [English translation: "The warriors of God buried us alive in Afghanistan" - Malalai, A doctor in Kabul] from pages 28 to 61. A further article, "Afghanistans endloser Krieg: Zwischen Kalaschnikow und Koran" [Afghanistan's Endless War: Between the Kalashnikov and the Koran] by Gabriel Grüner, and a further portfolio concludes the book on pages 63 to 91.
Nachtwey's work is always harrowing and disturbing but is extremely important for understanding the brutal impacts of inhumanity and conflict throughout the world. This is even more so at a time when we are ever more doubtful about the lies, propaganda and self-serving nature of corporate media, politicians and war profiteers.
An outtake photograph similar to the cover photograph of "Civil Wars" by James Nachtwey, Kabul, Afghanistan, 1996. Image sourced from Pinterest.
Ruins of Kabul, Afghanistan, 1996 by James Nachtwey. Image sourced from Pinterest
I had not been previously familiar with the photojournalism of James Nachtwey (1948-) until I saw the documentary film War Photographer (2001) by director Christian Frei at the 2001 Hot Docs International Documentary Film Festival in Toronto. Afterwards I was able to source several published collections of Nachtwey's work and James Nachtwey: Civil Wars (1998) was one of them.
Review of the Stern Magazine Portfolio paperback (1998)
The recent (August 2021) re-takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban led me to take another look at photojournalist James Nachtwey's views of Afghanistan towards the end of the Afghan Civil War (1992-1996) when the Taliban first came to rule the country. James Nachtwey: Civil Wars was an early (Issue #6) publication of the German language Stern Magazine's Portfolio Bibiothek der Fotographie limited edition series which published quarterly from 1996 to 2014.
Civil Wars includes an introductory article "Der Augenzeuge" (The Eyewitness) by Hans-Hermann Klare with an initial portfolio of Nachtwey's work documenting conflicts and famines in Somalia (1992), Bosnia (1993), Sudan (1993), Rwanda (1994), Zaire (1994), and Chechnya (1995-1996) from pages 3 to 27. This is followed by the central portfolio with the epigram "Die Gotteskrieger haben uns in Afghanistan lebendig Begraben" - (Malalai, Ärztin in Kabul) [English translation: "The warriors of God buried us alive in Afghanistan" - Malalai, A doctor in Kabul] from pages 28 to 61. A further article, "Afghanistans endloser Krieg: Zwischen Kalaschnikow und Koran" [Afghanistan's Endless War: Between the Kalashnikov and the Koran] by Gabriel Grüner, and a further portfolio concludes the book on pages 63 to 91.
Nachtwey's work is always harrowing and disturbing but is extremely important for understanding the brutal impacts of inhumanity and conflict throughout the world. This is even more so at a time when we are ever more doubtful about the lies, propaganda and self-serving nature of corporate media, politicians and war profiteers.
An outtake photograph similar to the cover photograph of "Civil Wars" by James Nachtwey, Kabul, Afghanistan, 1996. Image sourced from Pinterest.
Ruins of Kabul, Afghanistan, 1996 by James Nachtwey. Image sourced from Pinterest
I had not been previously familiar with the photojournalism of James Nachtwey (1948-) until I saw the documentary film War Photographer (2001) by director Christian Frei at the 2001 Hot Docs International Documentary Film Festival in Toronto. Afterwards I was able to source several published collections of Nachtwey's work and James Nachtwey: Civil Wars (1998) was one of them.
November 9, 2016
The greatest war photographer ever.
Nachtwey's photographs embody Robert Frank's quote "There is one thing the photograph must contain, the humanity of the moment".
Nachtway has witnessed the insanity and ravages of war. The human nature he captures with his eyes through the lens isn't the idealistic one but of its ugly manifestions .. With death, destruction, misery, hunger, chaos and scars on victims' flesh as predominant elements of his pictures, they mirror into deep inside our mind, so deep that we can't shake them off, the horrific and outrageous acts commited by man.. He is like a messenger of tragedies that we tend in our daily peaceful life to distantiate ourselves from, or to ignore them as if they have never existed..
The first time I saw his work was when I watched the documentary film "War Photographer" in 2001.
A clip from the movie, highly recommended
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3Voy...
I have attended Nachtwey's major solo exhibition in Paris in 2002 (at the BNF), as well as the collective exhibition in 2005 (at Photo n9) where many of his photographs were displayed. Every single photograph i have contemplated (taken in Palestine; Afghanistan; Bosnia; Romania; Somalia; Rwanda) is still vivid in my mind.
Many of his poignant and mind blowing photographs are included in this portfolio. They could be also found in this catalogue
https://anegativespace.files.wordpres...
His most important photographs are shown in this video of his intervention at the TED Talks.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGKZh...
Nachtwey's photographs embody Robert Frank's quote "There is one thing the photograph must contain, the humanity of the moment".
Nachtway has witnessed the insanity and ravages of war. The human nature he captures with his eyes through the lens isn't the idealistic one but of its ugly manifestions .. With death, destruction, misery, hunger, chaos and scars on victims' flesh as predominant elements of his pictures, they mirror into deep inside our mind, so deep that we can't shake them off, the horrific and outrageous acts commited by man.. He is like a messenger of tragedies that we tend in our daily peaceful life to distantiate ourselves from, or to ignore them as if they have never existed..
The first time I saw his work was when I watched the documentary film "War Photographer" in 2001.
A clip from the movie, highly recommended
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3Voy...
I have attended Nachtwey's major solo exhibition in Paris in 2002 (at the BNF), as well as the collective exhibition in 2005 (at Photo n9) where many of his photographs were displayed. Every single photograph i have contemplated (taken in Palestine; Afghanistan; Bosnia; Romania; Somalia; Rwanda) is still vivid in my mind.
Many of his poignant and mind blowing photographs are included in this portfolio. They could be also found in this catalogue
https://anegativespace.files.wordpres...
His most important photographs are shown in this video of his intervention at the TED Talks.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGKZh...
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews