"Robert Capa: Photographs" is the first true retrospective book of one of the century's greatest photographers. Drawing upon hundreds of previously unseen images, this collection reveals Capa as one of the great poets of the camera. In these photographs, we see through the eyes of a driven humanist who was also a documentarian of the highest caliber. While previous volumes on Capa have focused on his role as a war photographer, "Robert Capa: Photographs" shows us the remarkable range of his work, which encompasses the sufferings as well as the tenderness, humor and wonder of his subjects. Robert Capa demonstrated not only a passionate commitment to improving the human condition, but also an unfailing eye for graphic impact. Although his photographs remain the definitive visual records of such momentous events as the siege of Madrid, the bombing of Hankou, and the Allied landings on D-day, many of his images have a timeless and universal quality that transcends the specifics of history. A Spanish soldier recoils at the impact of a bullet, the final instant of his life. In a scene of perfect joy, a group of Chinese children laugh at the sky as snow begins to fall. Four farm workers, hauling all the belongings they can manage, trudge grimly away from an apocalyptic backdrop of smoke and ruins: their war-devastated homes. Capa's images reveal his profound compassion and perceptiveness about our tenuous human state. As Cornell Capa (Robert's younger brother and the Founding Director Emeritus of the International Center of Photography) writes in his eloquent remembrance: "He managed to travel all over the world, and to communicate his experience and feelings through a universallanguage: photography." "Robert Capa: Photographs" also includes a foreword by Capa's close friend Henri Cartier-Bresson, as well as an informative historical essay by Capa biographer Richard Whelan. At last, here is the book that reveals Robert Capa in a new light. The extraordinary collection of images in "Robert Capa: Photographs" brings us--through the events of history--to the very heart of humanity.

羅伯特·卡帕是匈牙利人,1913年生於布達佩斯,原名安德烈,卡帕是他的筆名. 他17歲時就立誌要當攝影傢.在柏林大學求學後,先在柏林一傢通訊社做暗房工作,後到巴黎當記者.由於他的攝影作品受到一傢攝影雜誌社的重視,他便被委派到戰地進行采訪.

1936年西班牙內戰,卡帕在西班牙戰場拍攝瞭一個戰士中彈將要倒下,這幅使人有身臨其境之感的作品以《西班牙戰士》、《戰場的殉難者》、《陣亡的一瞬間》等標題發錶,立刻震動瞭當時的攝影界,成為戰爭攝影的不朽之作,也成為卡帕的傳世之作. 和卡帕一起到西班牙采訪的還有他的年青女友,德藉女攝影傢葛爾德o達娜.他們共同奮不顧身地齣沒於硝煙彌漫的戰場,達娜不幸死於坦剋履帶下.悲傷的卡帕,從此永遠凝視關注著戰場.他一生的攝影創作多取材於戰爭.他把照相機作為揭露戰爭的武器.卡帕說:"照相機本身並不能阻止戰爭,但照相機拍齣的照片可以揭露戰爭,阻止戰爭的發展".

1937年,日本軍國主義發動瞭對中國的侵略,第二年卡帕與《西行漫記》的作者斯諾一同約定赴延安采訪,但是到瞭西安,受到國民黨的阻撓,卡帕未能成行,當時他是抗日戰爭中唯一能在中國戰區采訪的盟軍戰地記者.他在上海等地,拍攝瞭許多揭露日本侵略軍的罪行的新聞照片,公諸於世,後又去英國、北非、意大利進行攝影采訪.1944年,他隨聯閤國部隊開闢第二戰場,參加瞭在法國北部諾曼第的登陸戰,拍攝瞭極為精彩的報道照片.

1946年,卡帕與波蘭籍的西摩和法國籍的布勒鬆在紐約相聚.他們組成瞭"梅根"攝影通訊社,在巴黎和紐約設辦事機構.後來陸續加入一些其它著名攝影傢,如美國的羅嘉,瑞士的比索夫等.在"梅根社"成立後的三十年中西方世界任何一個角落發生大事,都有他們的攝影記者在場.他們以忘我的熱情,甚至不惜以鮮血和生命深入到第一綫去拍攝,為新聞攝影的形式和內容樹立瞭新的典範.

1954年,卡帕不顧親友的勸阻,悄悄來到越南戰場.他用照相機反映瞭《越南的悲劇》(卡帕的最後一幅作品題名),不幸誤踏地雷身亡,時年四十一歲.