Capturing the Light A Story of Genius, Rivalry and the Birth of Photography

'A history of the birth of photography told as a fierce race between two rivals ... Reads like a scientific thriller' Observer 'A lively introduction to the subject, illustrated with vivid examples of the early photographers' art ... like photography itself, it seeks to inform and to entertain by the careful marshalling of contrast' Financial Times 'A cheerfully readable account of both the men and the magic, guiding us through the chemistry but never losing sight of the sheer wonderment in fixing an instant for eternity. The enthusiasm [of the authors] for those pioneering days of photography, the drama and the sense of something fabulous just over the horizon, is catching. The early story of photography is as rich and strange as all its consequences since' Bella Bathurst, Sunday Telegraph