Marc Aronson to Publish New Book on the Origins of Photojournalism
Aronson uses photography to tell the tale of Robert Capa and Gerda Taro.
Update, December 4, 2017
Assistant Teaching Professor Marc Aronson and his wife and co-author Marina Budhos published their newest book, "Eyes of the World: Robert Capa, Gerda Taro and the Invention of Modern Photojournalism" in 2017 (Holt). It has recently been selected for more than eight "Best Books of the Year" lists.
The book is also one of five finalists for the YA Nonfiction award -- given out by YALSA, the division of the American Library Association for ages 12-18; the two youth awards for Nonfiction are the Sibert (ages 0-14) and the YA NF. Aronson is the only person to have won or been a finalist for the two American Library Association awards for excellence in nonfiction (the Sibert for ages 0-14 and the Young Adult Nonfiction prize for ages 12-18) as both an author and an editor.
Read the reviews below, and for more information about the book, the authors, and more, visit Marina Budhos’ website.
Tablet named it one of the "Best Jewish Children's Books of 2017."
Denver Public Library included it on its "Best and Brightest Children's and Teen's Books of 2017."
Kirkus Review , named it a "Best Book of 2017" for teens.
The Horn Book included it in its list of “Best Books of the Year for Children and Teens.”
The Washington Post named one of the "Best Children’s Book of 2017."
The School Library Journal included it in its “Best Books of 2017.”
The Chicago Public Library included it in its list of “Best Teen Nonfiction of 2017.”
Print journalism was revolutionized with the advent of fast lightweight cameras in the late 1920s, which allowed journalists to capture action as never before in their news stories. The addition of photography visually transformed the stories writers and editors told. Similarly, photos take on a transformative nature in Assistant Teaching Professor Marc Aronson’s new book, “Eyes of the World: Robert Capa, Gerda Taro, and the Invention of Modern Photojournalism.”
The idea of including photos with news stories was popularized, in part, by Robert Capa and Gerda Taro, the subjects of Aronson’s 304-page nonfiction book being published by Henry Holt & Co. in April. Aronson uses the present tense to describe the lives of Robert Capa and Gerda Taro, who set off in the 1930s to capture the fight against fascism during the Spanish Civil War. The duo brought a human face to war with their iconic shots, many of which are displayed in the book. The text is designed for middle grade and young adult students, but can easily be enjoyed by readers of any age.
Aronson described the design process of the book saying, “Recounting the desperate, tragic, heroic lives of Capa and Taro, we needed to consider every page and page turn as textual description interwoven with visual narration.”
Aronson also discussed how he will include the lessons he learned while working on the book in the curriculum for the classes he teaches in the Library and Information Science (LIS) program saying, “I help to train graduate students to become librarians working with children and teenagers in school and public libraries. The fact that I also write and edit books for those readers gives me the chance to share books from the inside: how they are created, edited, and sold.”
Aronson co-authored the book with his wife Marina Budhos, an English professor at William Patterson University.
“Eyes of the World” has received starred reviews from Booklist, Voya, and Kirkus Reviews.
The publication has also been reviewed by The Washington Post which can be read here.
Aronson and Budhos are beginning a media tour for their book starting with a string of radio appearances. An interview from Guernica can be found here, History News Network to come, and on Tell Me Everything with John Fuglesang on SiriusXm Insight Channel 121 can be heard on April 5 at 3 p.m.
In addition to being featured on these shows, excerpts from their book is published Time’s website which can be read here and in the School Library Journal which can be found here.
Aronson and Budhos will also be speaking about their book at the Montclair Literary Festival on April 1 at 2 p.m., and will host a book launch on April 30 at Words Bookstore in Maplewood, NJ. Additionally, on May 16, Aronson and Budhos will be hosting a panel on war photography at the Cervantes House in New York City as well as a book signing on June 8 at the International Center of Photography: 250 Bowery, NYC. In addition, the rights to translate the book into Japanese have been sold.
In addition to publishing books, Aronson has worked in the field of literature for younger readers for more than 25 years as an author, editor, speaker, publisher, and critic. He is the first winner of the American Library Association's Robert L. Sibert Medal for excellence in nonfiction writing for readers through age 14.
"Eyes of the World: Robert Capa, Gerda Taro, and the Invention of Modern Photojournalism" can be purchased on Amazon here.
To learn more about the Library and Information Science program, click here.
Reviews
★ EYES OF THE WORLD: ROBERT CAPA, GERDA TARO, AND THE INVENTION OF MODERN PHOTOJOURNALISM
Author: Marc Aronson and Marina Budhos
Publisher: Henry Holt
Pages: 304
Price (Hardcover): $22.99
Publication Date: March 2017
ISBN (Hardcover): 9780805098358
[Horn Book - May/June]
This passionate, sprawling, multilayered biography begins like a Robert Capa photograph: right in the middle of the action. Readers are thrust into the D-Day landing, with all the terror, fatigue, bloodshed, and danger of that harrowing day as Capa photographs the Normandy Invasion. The narrative then flashes back to Capa’s childhood and emigration from Hungary to Paris, his budding career as a photographer, and his meeting and falling in love with Gerda Taro. The two reinvent themselves as “photojournalists,” traveling to Spain to document the Spanish Civil War. Fiercely supporting the Loyalists in opposition to Franco, Capa and Taro make no effort to cover the war impartially, a point that Aronson and Budhos stress as they discuss the development of the new field of photojournalism. In two separate “Interludes” the authors also provide a tutorial on “reading” pictures: how a photographer’s positioning, shooting angle, and framing can make a statement and create a distinct point of view. And they go far beyond the telling, showcasing multiple photographs and graphics substantiating these conclusions. The carefully selected and positioned photographs in each chapter create parallel narratives to the biography, adding depth to the fervor of Taro and Capa’s intense relationship, political beliefs, and art. An opening note sends readers to a website where ancillary material, such as a timeline and a discussion of the political parties in Spain, can be found. Extensive back matter covers topics as varied as the controversy over Capa’s Falling Soldier photograph; the parallels to the contemporary war in Syria; biographical notes of well-known individuals, from Langston Hughes to Benito Mussolini, involved in the Spanish Civil War; thorough source notes; an extensive bibliography; and an index. Betty Carter.