Book review: 70th Grand Prix of Monaco by David Douglas Duncan
Positives
Negatives
There are only a few times I’ve bought books online sight unseen based on the book’s cover and the reputation of its author or photography. David Douglas Duncan’s “70th Grand Prix of Monaco” hardcover book is one of the few. Some readers may know that Duncan was a very famous for his WWII and Korean & Vietnam War photography and also his personal photos of Picasso. With that kind of serious pedigree and him also being an avid Formula One fan, his tribute book to the 2012 Monaco GP would surely have to be great. Think again…
This book is actually a collection of photos taken by David Duncan using a Nikon Coolpix digital camera from the Philips TV in his hotel room in France while recovering from a hip injury. He wasn’t actually at the track but a photo of the room and the TV have been included. The book’s concept is a bit odd to me and slightly misleading if you’re not aware that it’s actually a book of photos of TV images.
The photos themselves are a combination of track action and close-ups. The close-up (or magnification) photos are terribly grainy – e.g. Perez and Kovalainen’s wheels.
Fans will know that Mark Webber was the winner in 2012 and there are plenty of photos of Webber’s Red Bull and on the podium. There are captions to the photos but these are more like poetic notes.
With all due respect to Duncan who passed in 2018, this is one of the few F1 books I’ve regretted buying without looking (which I could have avoided if there had been an online review posted). I’ve no doubt of Duncan’s artistry as a photographer in his other books but this book isn’t one that F1 fans will be drooling over…
Wow factor/money shot: The shock of the photo quality from such a reknown photographer…
Suitable for: With the benefit of hindsight, only David Douglas Duncan fans.
