Apollo The Colour of Time: A New History of the World, 1850-1960

An astounding book, that wonderfully marries the colour images that are vivid and realistic with great story line. I thought I'd flick through the images, but I actually read through the entire book.What I like about it is that it shows history that feels familiar but it doesn't do it in a way that is obvious. Many of the images were new to me. The colouring is subtly done and very naturalistic giving you that 'I imagine myself there' feeling.What I like slightly less, is that it is a history book. Yes, that is entirely personal. I'm more interested in social history and if there was a sequel that'd deal with broader human condition, I'd buy it in an instant.As to the argument, somewhat weird, that the colour spoils the images, or somehow is representative of the cultural dumbing down, having read the book, I feel neither robbed of the black and white charm, nor feel myself any stupider for wanting to see what these images could look like in colour.If you prefer black and white, why purchase this book?To my mind, this book is less about aesthetics (although there's plenty enough of that and as I said the book is beautifully executed) and more about fly-on-the-wall time travel experience.

This book has quite literally taken my breath away. The painstaking work of Marina Amaral is astounding. There are pictures in this book that will make you smile, shed a tear and shake your head in wonderment. I hope upon hope that many of the unknown subjects ultimately lived long and happy lives. The picture on pages 360-361 of the Warsaw Ghetto made me shudder and want to intervene. Do yourself a favour and buy two copies of this book when you place your order. One for yourself and one for a friend, you'll be pleased you did.

On face value - it's a beautiful book.I've been a follower of the work of Marina Amaral for the last couple of years, so I was looking forward to a book of her work backed up by explanatory text.I know first and foremost it's a history book (albeit somewhat subjective), but the big draw is the colourised images brought to life by Marina Amaral's painstaking research and colourisation skills. Sadly many of the photos are broken up by being spread over two pages so much of the detail in the centre is lost in the gutter of the book. There's also no captions on the photos, which is annoying especially when you don't recognise the subject. Perhaps it was a decision by the authors to do this to make you read the text rather than skip through it like a picture book.Don't get me wrong I'm not one of those people who will only watch colourised classic movies. I love Black and White but Marina Amaral's interpretations are justified and generally stunning.Her work deserves a better platform.

This is a stunningly beautiful history book, that has taken as its inspiration a selection of old black and white photographs, which have (following extensive research) been painstakingly coloured by illustrator Marina Amaral.Each decade from 1850 to 1960 is represented first by a time-line of most important events around the world occurring then, followed by a selection of photographs of that time along with vignettes of people, quotes and happenings.Although a lot of major events and prominent people are dealt with, there are also many pictures of ‘ordinary’ people and extraordinary situations, edifices being built, cities being destroyed, the dead, the dying and the living. All types of human life and existence are represented in this esoteric history of the world.I haven’t read every word in the book, but I have been through every page, and admired the superbly coloured photographs. The sections I have read in full were very interesting, and often new to me.This is not a book to be read cover to cover – but one to be dipped into time and time again. The book goes to show, that history need not be in black and white – but can be as vivid and as riveting as the present. It also shows how fascinating even the tiniest details of the past can be.This book was recommended to me by a member of our pub quiz team. When I searched for it on-line, I had expected it to be well outside my price range, but was amazed at how reasonably priced it was – and snapped up a copy immediately. It would make a wonderful (affordable) present for anyone who has even a passing interest in history.

Absolutely superb, I can't remember a book ever giving me greater pleasure. I hope that the gifted Marina Amaral is busy teaching her techniques to others so that we can look forward to the misty curtain of black-and-white being withdrawn from more historic images. Amazingly effective colourisation technique, especially the difficult flesh hues. Her careful research is an important factor in making her work so completely convincing. (It's a pity that the author, Dan Jones, was not as careful. I haven't yet read the book so this might be the only slip, but I was surprised to see he had fallen into the well-worn trap of assuming that Roger Fenton's photograph of 'The Valley of the Shadow of Death' on pages 34-35 was of Balaclava and the scene of the Charge. However, even if I do read the text at some time, I rather think my attention will repeatedly drift to the ravisihing colourised photographs. Rasputin has just glared at me, Mata Hari dances seductively in a photograph well-known and distant in black-and-white but immediate and fresh in colour, and look how Amaral has handled that contrasty stage lighting - a consummate artist in a technique that has been around for some time and only now finding experts who can release its full power. Utterly, utterly brilliant.