Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/05/26

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Subject: [Leica] War Photography in America
From: Harrison McClary <harrison@mcclary.net>
Date: Wed, 26 May 1999 16:32:55 -0500

If any are interested in the history of war photography in America from 
its "birth" in the Spanish American War (the first war to be seriously 
photographed...the Civil War does not count as there are not many that 
many photo made...her statement not mine) to Veitnam the book "Shooting 
War" by Susan D Moeller ISBN 0-465-07777-3 is an excellent read.  

I am just about through the first section on the Spanish American War and 
it is very interesting to see the perspectives of these pioneering 
journalists and how much things changed over the years.

The book was reccommended to me by two photographers who first fought in 
Veitnam as a Marine and another as part of the 101 Screaming Eagles then 
went back to cover it as photographers, one for UPI the other AP (was 
Eddie Adams roomate over ther according to friends).

I snipped Alan's post below because the book goes into how photography 
was used as a propoganda tool to shore up support for the Spanish 
American War, WWI, WWII, and finally turned the country off to Korea in 
some extent and a lot in Veitnam.

>most people look 
>at it the same way they look at state run propaganda broadcasts: with 
>confidence or defiance depending on who they want to believe. CNN or BBC 
>World are considered as US propaganda tools by a large number of viewers, 
>even here in western Europe. I know people here in Belgium, living less 
>than a mile away form Nato HQ, who genuinely consider that the only 
>accessible 'truth' about Kosovo is what is relayed in Russian and Chinese 
>media,


Best regards,
Harrison McClary
email: harrison@mcclary.net
http://www.mcclary.net
preview my book: http://www.volmania.com