Aperture, the memoir of celebrated press photographer John Downing, is a throwback to a time when newspapers still had huge circulations and dedicated photo sections. One minute, Downing and colleagues would be having wheelbarrow races with secretaries in rowdy Fleet Street boozers; the next, they'd be sent off around the world to cover the latest conflict or disaster.
Downing spent a lifetime living on his wits, but perhaps came closest to death near to home - he was caught up in the Brighton bombing and has the distinction of being the only photographer to snap Maggie Thatcher in the immediate aftermath.
The book - written as his health declined and published posthumously - is both a rollicking catalogue of personal (mis)adventures and an eyewitness account of history in the making and some of the most appalling humanitarian tragedies of the twentieth century.
Buzz review here.
No comments:
Post a Comment