Magnum: Fifty Years at the Front Line of History by Russell Miller

(Paperback: 336 Pages, Publisher: Grove Press; 1st Grove Press Pbk. edition October 1999)

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-know faces – from Joan Crawford to Malcolm X – Magnum has changed how we see our political leaders, social crises and the communities next door.

Magnum’s photographers are some of the most talented, brave and resourceful in the world: 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 and photojournalism.