Unreasonable behaviour

Don McCullin has faced fear in more forms than most people will ever meet, and he has survived more close calls than he can count. One of the hardest of these was a stretch in a Ugandan prison, an experience that would have shattered many men. He admits that he has been written off more than once, yet he describes these moments without boasting. Reflecting on death and danger, he suggests that each time he tested his luck, he was also quietly testing the patience of his Maker.

The book is a memoir by one of the best-known war photographers of his generation. It traces how a working life spent at the front line of armed conflict shaped him, and it weighs the personal cost of that work, including the losses that come with it. The text is paired with a broad selection of his photographs, which reveal the same unflinching eye that runs through the writing.

Readers interested in photojournalism, conflict reporting or the lives of those who document war will find much here. The book moves beyond a showcase of images to become a candid account of a man who has repeatedly pushed past the limits of danger.