The authors have produced a personal view of the Vietnam war as seen through the camera lens. This is a novel approach to military history where few books are created by those who photographed the action – Highly Recommended.
NAME: Shooting Vietnam, The War By Its Military Photographers FILE: R3070 AUTHOR: Dan Brookes, Bob Hillerby PUBLISHER: Pen and Sword BINDING: hard back PRICE: £25.00 GENRE: Non Fiction SUBJECT: Vietnam, Indo China, US Forces, column warfare, combat cameraman, photo journalist, camera, technology, SLR, plate camera, half plate, action photography, battle zone, insurgents, North Vietnamese Army, campaigns, air strikes, vertical insertion, helicopters
ISBN: 1-52674-400-7
PAGES: 235 IMAGE: B3070.jpg BUYNOW: tinyurl.com/yew2qbea LINKS: DESCRIPTION: The authors have produced a personal view of the Vietnam war as seen through the camera lens. This is a novel approach to military history where few books are created by those who photographed the action – Highly Recommended. The Vietnam War was a military disaster for the US that took much effort to recover from. Most of the troops were young conscripts who did not want to be there. The US military made many mistakes and the politicians failed to recognize the risks, failed to provide clear objectives and failed to prepare exit strategies. The CB (combat cameraman) wanted to be there. He had to accept the same hardships and dangers as the soldiers but he had clear objectives and motivation. For him, the Vietnam War was a success because he did his job and enjoyed doing it. In the process, he was marked as deeply as the soldiers. Although cameras had been recording military action since the US Civil War, the Vietnam War was one of the first to be able to take advantage of camera and film technology that greatly aided the CB. The 35mm SLR camera was a particular advantage because it was compact, light-weight and available as a system with many lens and accessory choices. It could have been specifically designed for the CB and it was supported by a new range of film stock that offered many advantages, being easy to change rolls and with choice of performance and durability in testing conditions. This highly readable collection of memories and experiences provides a vivid impression of war and the conditions in Vietnam. There are a great many images, many in full colour, through the book but the words also paint memorable pictures. The images are part of the personal collections of the authors and part of their lives. They have captured the essence of combat a long way from home.