Unreasonable Behavior

Several people had recommended Unreasonable Behaviour by Don McCullin, his autobiography. While it cannot be described as light reading, I found it compelling and engrossing at the same time. If you think the life of a (mostly) war photographer is harsh, think again: it's super super harsh. From a humble beginning and barely averting a life of violence and prison, McCullin became a photographer by chance, mostly. Fueled by a young man's adrenaline, he covered various conflicts while barely in his 20s and risked more than most, not necessarily to get "the picture" but rather from a sense of showing things as they really were. This led him later on to being injured in the field and sequestered by Idi Amin. There's a darkness in McCullin's photography that is not just what he depicts but also how he views the world. Even his landscapes of Somerset are dark. When you read Unreasonable Behaviour, you understand where the darkness is coming from. Magnificent if harsh read.