Truth Needs No Ally: Inside Photojournalism
by Howard Chapnick
Category: Photography

Nothing has more power to communicate the destruction and despair of our time than the documentary photograph. The Tiananmen Square massacre, the Kent State shootings, the Kennedy assassination, the civil rights movement - these events have been indelibly etched in the minds of Americans through the work of photojournalists. In Truth Needs No Ally, Howard Chapnick, one of the giants of contemporary photojournalism, offers a historical, philosophical, pragmatic, and inspiring look at the profession. From the exhilarating early years of LIFE and Look magazines, through the explosion of photographic technology, Howard Chapnick takes us through the fascinating history of documentary photography. He discusses the modern capacities for computerized manipulation of photos and argues passionately for unflinching ethical standards on the part of photographers and editors alike. Filled with lively anecdotes from the author's fifty-year career and written in an engaging, personal style, Truth Needs No Ally covers myriad practical, creative, and ethical issues, including professional conduct, challenges facing women and minorities in photojournalism, developing a portfolio, cultivating a personal style, and government manipulation of the media. With dozens of photographs - many in color - representing photographic journalism at its best, Truth Needs No Ally is the definitive book on photojournalism by a master of the craft.