The Colour of Time: A New History of the World, 1850-1960
From the mid-19th century, many of the most celebrated moments and personalities in modern history—from Gettysburg to Hiroshima, and from Lincoln to Churchill—have been captured for posterity by the camera lens. Marina Amaral uses digital techniques, underpinned by painstaking research, to colorize 200 such images embracing an entire century of world history. The results are revelatory, transforming the monochrome of early photography into the vibrant hues of real life. Statesmen and soldiers, as well as the faces of hundreds of ordinary people, thus appear in dramatically vivid guise. The images are organized in 10 chronological chapters. Each image is accompanied by a 200-word caption by best-selling historian Dan Jones, telling the stories behind them. A fusion of amazing pictures and well-chosen words, The Colour of Time offers a unique—and often beautiful—perspective on the past.
Reviews (386)
A Beautiful New World History
This is a beautiful and fascinating book, published in the UK as “The Colour of Time” and in the U.S. as “The Color of Time” (October 2, 2018). The well-written and informative text is by Dan Jones, author of “The Plantagenets,” “The War of the Roses” and “The Templars.” Each decade is introduced by a single photograph, a “Zeitgeist” overview of the period, and a timeline that is loosely tied to the photographs that follow. The narrative explains each photograph and the historical context from which it is taken. The photographs drive the story, and in this sense the book reminds me of Neil MacGregor’s magnificent “A History of the World in 100 Objects.” Some of the photos are familiar and iconic (you’ve seen them in black and white), others a bit more obscure—all are beautifully rendered by Marina Amaral. I learned a great deal from this beautiful book and thoroughly enjoyed reading it. I’ve also picked up two other news books featuring colorized photographs, “History as They Saw It”, by Wolfgang Wild and Jordan Lloyd, and “Retrographic” by Michael Carroll. Some of the photos are the same, and it will be interesting to see how different artists have interpreted how the colors should appear (there’s inevitably a bit or artistic license involved). On a related topic, be on the look out for Peter Jackson’s new documentary, “They Shall Not Grow Old,” in which he colorizes World War I footage, uses computer technology to smooth out the jerkiness of the old films, and adds sound and words (based on forensic lip reading of the old films) to create a documentary of WWI “as they saw it.”
Breathless history revealed
Totally in awe. The time and skill required to complete this book of history brought to life, is staggering. I've been anticipating the release for weeks now. Previews and discussions on Twitter. History with the veil of black and white lifted.
Absolutely gorgeous
An absolutely gorgeous book. Purchased as a gift, and it took my breath away when it arrived. Now everyone on my list is getting a copy for Christmas, including "my husband" (let's be honest it's for me). It's difficult to explain the emotional depth the color adds to these photos, but it's a masterpiece and I can't recommend this book more highly. Note - I actually prefer this UK cover to the American version, which is different and has a photo on it. To me, this catches the eye better.
Bringing history to life with color
Intriguing! Of course this isn’t a definitive history book, rather snapshots of what was happening in the world from 1850 to 1960. The very first pic is of JFK and Jackie O. Understated, real, concise...it’s almost like you have your own time machine. You realize history more in depth given the color enhanced photographs. This book in the very least is at least a great coffee table reader.
A fascinating look into history
This book really draws you in - the colorization is amazing and it really makes history come alive. I was a bit surprised at the size and format of the book....was expecting more of a "coffee-table" size and presentation. It's smaller and thicker than I expected. But it's amazing nonetheless.
An absolute must for lovers of history and photography alike
Absolutely gorgeous book! I've been following Marina Amaral's work for a long time now and had this book on preorder! After receiving it and reading through the first series of pages shows it's an absolutely stunning book. The beautiful full page photographs and the accompanying text that details the subject and the time they lived in really bring you back in time. There's nothing like it. You'll lose yourself in this book!
History anyone!
Excellent book, I purchased this as a present for my nephew for Christmas! The colors from black and white really made the book come to life! The author had a great idea to grab your attention and keep your interest! I highly recommend you purshase this for any one who loves history.
Don’t waste your money, it’s a scam.
The book came defective, pages are in the wrong order, there’s a loose segment of pages and there’s a big part that is missing.
Brings moments from history alive
Beautiful. That's the only word that comes to mind when I page through this. Seeing images from the 1860s in full, vibrant color is amazing. And the colorization is so well done that you'd think Ms. Amaral has a time machine. Highly, HIGHLY recommended.
A fantastic gift for anyone, young or old.
Fantastic book, for an history lover or lover of photography. The creativity of the coloring is truly spectacular. The book is amazing at subtly giving social injustices of the past an immediacy.
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