Magnum: Fifty Years at the Front Line of History: The Story of the Legendary Photo Agency

by Russell Miller

Since Magnum was founded in 1947, its members have been on hand to bear witness on the front line of world history. From Robert Capa's stark photograph of a Loyalist soldier being shot in the head during the Spanish Civil War to Eve Arnold's astonishingly intimate portraits of well-known faces - from Joan Crawford to Malcolm X - Magnum has changed how we perceive our political leaders, social crises, and the communities next door.
Magnum's photographers are some of the most talented, brave, and resourceful in the the founders, Robert Capa, David Seymour, George Rodger, and Henri Cartier-Bresson; and recruits, including Eve Arnold, Bruce Davidson, Mary Ellen Mark, Susan Meiselas, Inge Morath, James Nachtwey, Eugene Richards, and Sebastiao Salgado. Magnum follows them on assignment, facing bodyguards and visa troubles and taking to the risk-filled trenches of several wars for the perfect shot. Full of wonderful stories and heroic feats, Magnum is an essential volume for anyone interested in photography or photojournalism.

Genres: Photography, History, Art, Journalism, Nonfiction, Art and Photography, Business

336 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Russell Miller (born c. 1938) is a British journalist and author of fifteen books, including biographies of Hugh Hefner, J. Paul Getty and L. Ron Hubbard. While under contract to The Sunday Times Magazine he won four press awards and was voted Writer of the Year by the Society of British Magazine Editors.

Reviews

[Gaetano Laureanti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Magnum Photos è una sorta di cooperativa, fondata nel 1947 da un pugno di grandi ed appassionati fotografi ormai mitici quali Robert Capa, Henri Cartier-Bresson, George Rodger e David Seymour (Chim per gli amici), accomunati dagli ideali liberali ed antifascisti che avevano già professato prima della Guerra; chi documentando le tremende condizioni in cui lavoravano e vivevano gli operai, chi frequentando gli intellettuali parigini, socialisti e comunisti, che animavano appassionate discussioni sul futuro dell’Europa.

Questo libro del giornalista inglese Russell Miller, scritto nel 1999, è stato pubblicato in Italia solo nel 2016, alle soglie del settantesimo anniversario della leggendaria agenzia.

Leggerlo è stato interessante perché mi ha fatto conoscere meglio alcuni personaggi e scoprirne altri che non conoscevo, tutti affratellati dalla passione per la documentazione fotografica della storia, nei suoi momenti più o meno bui, cercando di restare liberi dai condizionamenti esterni, economici e politici.

E dietro tutte le vicende e testimonianze descritte echeggia il rombo della storia: dalla guerra di Spagna documentata da Capa alla Cina ed all’India di Cartier-Bresson, dalla guerra del Kippur a quella del Vietnam, alla Cuba di Che Guevara (sì, la mitica foto del Che con il sigaro è di un membro della Magnum, René Burri), dalle stragi della polizia sudafricana a Sharpeville documentate da Ian Berry (le sue foto salvarono i dimostranti sopravvissuti che erano stati arrestati e processati) al Nicaragua fotografato da Susan Meiselas, dalla guerra del Golfo alla ex Jugoslavia ed alla tragedia della Cecenia degli anni Novanta.

Le barricate del ’68 a Parigi, la primavera di Praga (1968), Il Bloody Sunday in Irlanda (1972), la rivolta degli studenti cinesi in piazza Tienanmen (1989), insomma tutti gli avvenimenti più importanti della nostra epoca hanno sempre visto in prima linea gli inviati Magnum, di fatto “gli occhi del mondo”, con le loro immagini che ancora oggi sono delle vere e proprie icone popolari.

Ho appreso delle liti, delle rivalità tra i membri delle sedi di Parigi e New York, gelosie, invidie e dispetti, insomma aspetti più umani di quei personaggi solo in apparenza sovrumani. L’alternanza di aneddoti con interviste e riflessioni sul fotogiornalismo ed i suoi aspetti negli anni rende la lettura mai noiosa.

Mi ha sorpreso così sapere che Magnum è stata spesso sull’orlo del fallimento, probabilmente perché i soci non sono mai stati dei buoni (forse neanche mediocri) manager, lasciando per tanto tempo nel caos persino gli archivi che, secondo me, sono oggi la cosa più preziosa dell’agenzia.

Una lettura scorrevole per conoscere meglio i maestri della fotografia e le storie umane che albergano dietro gli scatti più famosi della nostra epoca.

[Francesco · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aspetti noti e meno noti sull’agenzia di fotogiornalismo più importante al mondo. Un racconto che rincorre gli eventi più importanti degli ultimi cinquant’anni di storia. Bellissimo il capitolo su Eugene Smith.

[Nuno de Oliveira · Rating 2 out of 5]

“As a photographer you see things first hand, things that haven’t been filtered through some process of manipulation, so the more you see, the more - hopefully - you understand. The more you understand, the more you see, and in this process you become wiser. That is the principle.”

[Marlene · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about the first 50 years of the Magnum Photo Agency. It is an agency run by the photographers who are members. This is quite a feat as the photographers are all individual thinkers who aren't really into compromise. Miller describes some of the individual photographers and interviewed many of them. Their opinions are quite varied. Along with stories of the agency and stories about some of the photographers were also stories BY some of the photographers about their adventures, especially in places at war or occurring riots or other dangerous situations. I found those very interesting and gained a new appreciation of photo journalism.

[Karl · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a wonderful account of an organization that has been praised for the last 70 years. Yet it is very interesting to see how dysfunctional it is internally and how it’s fame is more an external image created by a few photographers than a living reality. Now being in 2022, it would be great to see how it has been done in the time since the book was published, which is nearly 25 years.

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A vaguely interesting, highly romantic, not terribly granular, look at the world's premier photo agency (Hmmm, I think I may have been taken in by the author's unmitigated love of Magnum, dysfunctional though it may be). In the author's defense, any one of the photographers from Magnum's first 40 years of existence would rate biographies of their own; indeed Robert Capa has more than one, as does Cartier-Bresson (who does not always come off terribly well in this tale). A truly thorough-going history of Magnum would be a project the scale of Caro's LBJ opus and would have a decidedly limited audience. This gives a very quick overview of Magnum and the various periods in which it's existed. It leans far more heavily on the early years, indeed the 80s and 90s seem to unfold in something like 20 pages, leading one to think that work by Nachtwey, Steele-Perkins and Abbas got short shrift. Buy this book used like I did or, better still, buy books full of Magnum's photos, they're the better value.

[Hung-ya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading this book was an absolutely intense and fruitful journey. Such a privilege to know some insight stories of Magnum. Yes, it is composed of the world’ s best photographers and have therefore produced enormous amounts of historical moments under their lens. What we were aware of was, in fact, the very conflict of running Magnum itself when it comes to management. Such inflicting nature to recruit so many masterminds under one roof and to even try to “manage” them.

Fantastic stories within this volume and it really reflects on historical momentums and provides you with food for thought.

[Arah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an exhausting read, and not entirely in a good way. I skipped the last 20 pages, as I guessed it would be just another round of Magnum's concoction of great photography, poor (and yet somehow sustainable) management, and melodrama. I don't often choose to skip the ending of a book.

That said, the book is a great ride through 50 years of incredible photojournalism, and it was enjoyable to learn more about some of the personalities in Magnum's history.

[titi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every aspiring photographer dreams of joining the Magnum (and the National Geographic) for the adventures it promises, and this book offers a more profound reason to attain that elusive dream - social and political relevance.

[Michael Dundon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the classic story of art versus business. Many of the photographers seem brilliant, but others petty and selfish. I don't know how Magnum has lasted for as long as it has, but even with the childish behavior, I'm glad it's still there.

[Timo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brilliant storytelling, less so a history study. Enjoyed every page of it.

[Teri Cooper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tells the wonderful story of the building of a photographic icon - Magnum Photos.

[Shane · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is kind of interesting if you are interested in Magnum, but it's mostly gossip.

[Ismail Nur · Rating 5 out of 5]

İt was an amazing book. I've got so much information about Magnum Photos and i rocommend this book for beginner press photographers, you will learn many things from this book.

[Zorislav Stojanovic · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved every page of it :)

[Bob Peru · Rating 4 out of 5]

hardcore.

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Exhausting - Magnum I mean, not the author. Recommended!