To read Fox’s story on Marc Aronson’s new book, click here or continue reading.
Print journalism was revolutionized with the advent of fast lightweight cameras in the late 1920s, which allowed journalists to capture action as never before in their news stories. The addition of photography visually transformed the stories writers and editors told. Similarly, photos take on a transformative nature in Assistant Teaching Professor Marc Aronson’s new book, “Eyes of the World: Robert Capa, Gerda Taro, and the Invention of Modern Photojournalism.”
The idea of including photos with news stories was popularized, in part, by Robert Capa and Gerda Taro, the subjects of Aronson’s 304-page nonfiction book being published by Henry Holt & Co. in April. Aronson uses the present tense to describe the lives of Robert Capa and Gerda Taro, who set off in the 1930s to capture the fight against fascism during the Spanish Civil War. The duo brought a human face to war with their iconic shots, many of which are displayed in the book. The text is designed for middle grade and young adult students, but can easily be enjoyed by readers of any age.
Aronson described the design process of the book saying, “Recounting the desperate, tragic, heroic lives of Capa and Taro, we needed to consider every page and page turn as textual description interwoven with visual narration.”
Aronson also discussed how he will include the lessons he learned while working on the book in the curriculum for the classes he teaches in the Library and Information Science (LIS) program saying, “I help to train graduate students to become librarians working with children and teenagers in school and public libraries. The fact that I also write and edit books for those readers gives me the chance to share books from the inside: how they are created, edited, and sold.”
Aronson co-authored the book with his wife Marina Budhos, an English professor at William Patterson University.
“Eyes of the World” has received starred reviews from Booklist, Voya, and Kirkus Reviews.
The publication has also been reviewed by The Washington Post which can be read here.
Aronson and Budhos are beginning a media tour for their book starting with a string of radio appearances. An interview from Guernica can be found here, History News Network to come, and on Tell Me Everything with John Fuglesang on SiriusXm Insight Channel 121 can be heard on April 5 at 3 p.m.
In addition to being featured on these shows, excerpts from their book is published Time’s website which can be read here and in the School Library Journal which can be found here.
Aronson and Budhos will also be speaking about their book at the Montclair Literary Festival on April 1 at 2 p.m., and will host a book launch on April 30 at Words Bookstore in Maplewood, NJ. Additionally, on May 16, Aronson and Budhos will be hosting a panel on war photography at the Cervantes House in New York City as well as a book signing on June 8 at the International Center of Photography: 250 Bowery, NYC. In addition, the rights to translate the book into Japanese have been sold.
In addition to publishing books, Aronson has worked in the field of literature for younger readers for more than 25 years as an author, editor, speaker, publisher, and critic. He is the first winner of the American Library Association’s Robert L. Sibert Medal for excellence in nonfiction writing for readers through age 14.
“Eyes of the World: Robert Capa, Gerda Taro, and the Invention of Modern Photojournalism” can be purchased on Amazon here.
To learn more about the Library and Information Science program, click here.