George Rodger: Big Boys Don't Cry

The remarkable life and career of a recently rediscovered photography legend.

He was a trailblazing 20th-century British photojournalist but George Rodger lived in the adventurous tradition of 19th-century explorers. Cofounding Magnum Photos, in 1947, with Henri Cartier-Bresson and Robert Capa, the modest Rodger was eclipsed by his partners-until now. Rodger's Indiana Jones-style escapades are legendary and worth the telling. He once covered over 75,000 miles of "old Africa" in a Land Rover. He even survived a white rhino charge. He went on to become a key photographer of African tribal life. During World War II he covered 61 countries for Life magazine. He was chased through 300 miles of Burmese jungles by both the Japanese army and a tribe of headhunters. And he was the first to record the liberation of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. He quit photography when he realized he was arranging "thousands of Jewish corpses in nice photographic compositions."

In fascinating detail Carol Naggar not only recalls Roger's singular life and artistic contribution, but she also provides an in-depth look at the complex dynamics of ethics, violence, and photojournalism. As such, it places the legacy of George Rodger within a broader sociohistorical context.