[Leica] Real Leica books

[Mike Johnston <michaeljohnston@ameritech.net>]

>> I am getting my first Leica camera (M6 TTL). I would like to get a couple of
>> Leica books that could help me to increase my skill (and enjoyment) with my
>> new camera.
>> Could someone please offer some suggestions of Leica books?
>> Thanks,
>> Jack


I can offer some suggestions on excellent Leica books that I own and enjoy,
that have definitely enhanced my enjoyment of Leica:

_Witness To Our Time_ by Alfred Eisenstadt, Viking 1966 (beautiful gravure
reproductions)

_The Americans_ by Robert Frank, introduction by Jack Kerouac. I like the
Pantheon reissue from 1986.

_Roy de Carava: Photographer_, edited by Jim Alinder, The Friends of
Photography 1981

_Exiles_ by Josef Koudelka, Aperture, 1988

_Marc Riboud: Photographs At Home and Abroad_, Harry N. Abrams 1986

_Stay This Moment: The Photographs of Sam Abell_, E.K. Co. and
Thomasson-Grant, 1990

_Gypsies_, by Josef Koudelka, Aperture 1985

_Not Fade Away: The Rock & Roll Photography of Jim Marshall_, Bulfinch 1997

_Lee Friedlander Portraits_, New York Graphic Society, 1985

_Andre Kertesz: Diary of Light 1912-1985_ Aperture/ICP 1987

_William Eggleston's Guide_ by John Szarkowski, MoMA 1976 (good luck finding
this for less than $200, but it's indispensable)

The centerpiece of my collection is a pristine first edition of _The
Decisive Moment_, but this book runs maybe $350 with shabby bindings, $600+
in the condition of mine, so try: _Henri Cartier-Bresson: Photographer_,
1979, First Revised Edition, Bulfinch 1992. There's lots of good H.C.-B.
stuff on the bookstore shelves, most well worthwhile. I also confess I find
_Henri Cartier-Bresson and the Artless Art_ delightful, and good to look at.
Dip into the text here and there and don't take the writing too seriously.

I could make three more lists this long before even slowing down. There are
more, _lots_ more, too many more to list: Duncan, Salgado, Allard,
Winogrand, Gibson, Erwitt, and the great Leonard Freed, all of whose books
are superb. And more. Of recent books that I don't (yet) have, I'd suggest
Bruce Davidson's wonderful book of portraits (which includes his astonishing
picture of Samuel Beckett), Costas Manos's little book on Greece, and
Salgado's recent book of pictures of children. Friedlander's book of
self-portraits has just been reissued; get one while it can be got.

These are the books that will unlock the real essence of Leica. Ground
yourself in this culture and you will know, if not what the fuss about the
camera is about, at least why there was ever any fuss in the first place. I
honestly wonder sometimes if some people around here even have a clue.

Oh, one more overlooked gem of pure Leica photography I'd like to mention:
_Dan Wiener_, ICP Library of Photographers, Grossman Publishers, 1974, ISBN
670-25645-5. A beautiful little book by a photographer who died too young
and deserves to be better known. Leica photography purely. I can name more
little-known gems as the boxes in the basement get gradually unpacked from
my recent move.

I could go on all night,

- --Mike