Synopses & Reviews
Unlike any other book you may encounter, the sheer physical presence of
Century is unique. With 1,120 pages and 1,072 images, this monster volume offers an informative, nostalgic, intimate and monumental insight into the last 100 years.
Century is a history of the twentieth century told in photographs. More than any other, the last century was one of unforeseeable advances, discoveries and victories as well as unanticipated atrocities and suffering, and it was the first century to have been entirely documented by the camera. Thus the chronological sequence of images takes us on a journey through the trenches of the First World War, the virgin flight of the Wright brothers, the rise of unspeakable political regimes, the antics of Buster Keaton, the odyssey into outer space, and the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Culled from sources all over the world, the photographs are immediate and thought-provoking. They depict people and events, both famous and unknown, from the worlds of politics and war, art and invention, culture and social history. Selected for their ability to tell the story in a dynamic way, some iconic images do make an appearance but most of the photographs are refreshingly unknown, even to the most jaded among us.
Accompanied by extended historical background information for every single scene depicted, as well as evocative contemporary literary and political quotations, Century is as much a historical education as an enlightening visual display of familiar and unknown times.
For those of you who experienced much of the twentieth century, this book will jog your memory and serve rather like a guide to a territory that you once explored, but will never be able to visit again. For those who did not, it will help you understand and appreciate the people and events that made us who we are today, making it a book for every household.
Conceived and edited by the former picture editor of London's Sunday Times Magazine, Century is the culmination of Bruce Bernard's thirty years' work in the industry.
Review
"Open Century at any point and it is instantly, relentlessly gripping." San Francisco Chronicle
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"Huge and hugely impressive." New York Daily News
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"With a photo in nearly every one of this volume's 1,000 pages, this must undoubtedly be the most comprehensive visual account yet of the past century." Kirkus Reviews
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"Century is a stirring way to see the 20th century out and welcome in the 21st." Entertainment Weekly
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"The book's elegant design and crushing size is sure to turn anyone over ten into a couch potato." New Yorker
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"This enormous, austerely beautiful volume lets its pictures tell the story and theyre up to the task." People
Synopsis
A history of the 20th century told in photographs, this monster volume offersan informative, nostalgic, intimate, and monumental insight into the last 100years. Approx. 1,100 duotone & color photos.
Synopsis
Before even opening this award-winning book, you are struck by the sheer physical presence of Century. With 1,120 pages and 1,072 images, this colossal volume offers an informative, intimate and incisive insight into the twentieth century from the very beginning to the very end. Century is an extensive historical trajectory through the twentieth century, told through an eclectic yet exhaustive sequence of monumental photographic images.
More than any other before it, the twentieth century was one of unforeseeable advances, discoveries and victories as well as unanticipated atrocities and suffering. It was also the first century to have been documented entirely through the lens of the camera. The chronological journey of Century - in a visually extraordinary sequence of images - takes us from the end of Queen Victoria's reign, through the antics of Buster Keaton and the odyssey into outer space and the fall of the Berlin Wall. Assimilated from diverse sources across the world, the photographs are instantly arresting and tirelessly thought-provoking. Selected for their capacity to expose distinctly human stories with the dynamism that drives historical change, the tome combines iconic images with photographs previously unseen, from international political events to highly personal and anonymous vignettes.
Each photograph is substantiated by a brief but thorough historical explanation; every single scene is brought to life by evocative literary and political quotations. Century is as much an historical tour de force as it is an enlightening visual celebration of the past from a vast range of angles.