A photographer, in 1936 Mydans was hired by a new magazine: "Life". At first a general photographer for the groundbreaking magazine, he soon gravitated toward a particular subject: war. "Some people have asked me over the years, 'Why did you spend as much of your time covering war?'" Mydans once said. "War is not my delight," Mydans said. "War was the event of my years." He covered conflicts all over the world, often teamed up with his wife, Shelley, whom he met at the magazine: she was a reporter for Life. They were stationed in Asia when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, and both were captured by the Japanese, and were imprisoned for nearly a year. But they went back to work: Mydans' best-known photo was Gen. MacArthur wading ashore onto the Philippine island of Leyte, making good his promise, "I shall return." To Mydans frustration, legend has it that MacArthur staged the wet-shoe landing for the photographer, but he did not. Mydans died from heart failure at home in New York on August 16. He was 97.
From This is True for 15 August 2004 Suggestions for further reading:
 by Steve Katz Amazon Price: $17.58 Customer Review: I bought this for my teenage son who is an aspiring videographer. Anyone who is just getting started will benefit from this read. Even though it is dated in a few parts, overall it gives a very good explanation of the fundamentals of the film-makin...  by Robert Conroy Amazon Price: Customer Review: ...you'll probably enjoy this. It's a "what if" novel where WWII heats back up with a US-USSR conflict. Though I can't vouch for the historical accuracy or plausibility of the events, I can say it's a page-turner. It's been quite a while since I've r...  by Ron Powers, James Bradley Amazon Price: Customer Review: Spending the better part of my childhood with The Photograph painted on one of our living room walls, I now have a better understanding as of "why". This book was very interesting to me. My father was a Marine that fought in the Korean War and readin...  by Susan Sontag Amazon Price: $9.36 Customer Review: Susan Sontag is known as a lover as well as a critique of photography. In Regarding the Pain of Others she focuses on the impact of horrible war-images - starting with paintings such as Goya's Disasters of the War (1810-1820) going up to the present,...  by Maureen Taylor Amazon Price: $29.70 Customer Review: I got this book on Monday in the mail and have been devouring this ever since...simply amazing. Viewing these images and mini-biographies for each photo, along with my other book "American Insurgents, American Patriots", puts a whole new face (many f... Newsfeed display by CaRP |
About the HUs
About This is True to This is True
Prev: Carried-away actress Fay Wray Next: Taboo researcher Elisabeth Kubler-Ross | |