Unreasonable Behavior - by Don McCullin (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

From the construction of the Berlin Wall through every major conflict of his adult lifetime up to the Syrian Civil War, photographer Don McCullin has left a trail of iconic images. Revised and updated after twenty-five years, Unreasonable Behavior traces the life and career of one of the top photojournalists of the twentieth century and beyond.

Born in London in 1935, McCullin worked as a photographer's assistant in the RAF during the Suez Crisis. His early association with a North London gang led to the first publication of his pictures. As an overseas correspondent for the Sunday Times Magazine beginning in 1966, McCullin soon became a new kind of hero, taking a generation of readers beyond the insularity of post-war domestic life through the lens of his Nikon camera. He captured the realities of war in Biafra, the Congo, Vietnam, Cambodia, and the human tragedy of famine and cholera on the Bangladesh border and later, the AIDs epidemic in Sub-Saharan Africa.

McCullin now spends his days in a Somerset village, where he photographs the landscape and arranges still-lifes. Harrowing and poignant, Unreasonable Behavior is an extraordinary account of a witness who triumphed over the memories that could have destroyed him.

Review Quotes

"[Don McCullin] has known all forms of fear, he's an expert in it. He has come back from God knows how many brinks, all different. His experience in a Ugandan prison alone would be enough to unhinge another man--like myself, as a matter of fact--for good. He has been forfeit more times than he can remember, he says. But he is not bragging. Talking this way about death and risk, he seems to be implying quite consciously that by testing his luck each time, he is testing his Maker's indulgence."--John le Carré

"From the opening . . . there is hardly a dull sentence: his prose is so lively and uninhibited . . . An excellent book."--Sunday Telegraph (UK)

"McCullin handles much of the material culled from his war experiences like a seasoned thriller writer. His dialogue is convincing and sharp."--Observer (UK)

"McCullin is required reading if you want to know what real journalism is all about."--Times (UK)

"Unsparing reminiscences that effectively combine the bittersweet life of a world-class photojournalist with a generous selection of his haunting lifework . . . A genuinely affecting memoir that reckons the cost and loss involved in making one's way on the cutting edge of conflict."--Kirkus Reviews

"If anyone is the living embodiment of the power of a photo, it is Don McCullin."--Sunday Times (UK)

"This is a great book not just for those with an interest in photography, but also for those with an interest in modern history."--Oliver Atwell, Amateur Photographer

About the Author

Don McCullin grew up in north London. He worked for the Sunday Times for eighteen years and has covered every major conflict in his adult lifetime. The finest British photojournalist of his generation, he has received many honors and awards including the CBE. He received a knighthood in the 2017 New Year honors list. He lives in Somerset.