Product Description

The latest addition in the highly acclaimed A Life in Pictures series, this luxurious volume honors the legacy of one of the world's most beloved movie stars. Marilyn Monroe: A Life in Pictures is the only book to bring together all of the most iconic images of the legendary bombshell. Glamorous shots by celebrity photographers mix with casual snapshots and childhood portraits to span Marilyn's luminous but too-short life. Hundreds of evocative images, both lush and poignant, are interwoven with quotations by and about Marilyn to create an elegant collective portrait like no other. Aesthetically arresting throughout, this volume illuminates the life of a legend, both onscreen and off.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #166216 in Books
• Published on: 2007-09-27
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 192 pages

About the Author
David Thomson is the author of the acclaimed books The New Biographical Dictionary of Film, Nicole Kidman, and The Whole Equation: A History of Hollywood. He lives in San Francisco.

Anne Verlhac is a design instructor and branding consultant. She lives in Paris with her husband and young daughter.

Customer Reviews

Difficult to like though hard to hate!
Behind the striking cover is a book that has left me somewhat disappointed. Of course, owning over 100 books on Marilyn Monroe perhaps makes me a more difficult person to impress than the average buyer, but then again; who buys books about Marilyn...Marilyn Monroe fans I assume!

David Thomson writes a foreword that I just do not get. Is he trying to be clever? It sounds as if he has an aversion to Marilyn even after giving her credit for finally becoming an actress in the film Bus Stop. I honestly believe he does not like Marilyn in the slightest; holding it against her because of who she is personally! Thomson has a job to do though as he summarizes Monroe's life coldly & succinctly in less than 6 pages!

I realize this book is not titled "Marilyn A Glamorous Life" but still the photo selection presented here stymies me as well. While many pictures are totally unflattering to Marilyn, others are just not as powerful as a photograph in this type of book should be.

Case in point, the picture on page 148 of Marilyn making the trip to Ebbets Field in 1959; unnecessary. Pages 112 & 113 each show a different photo when Marilyn was being interviewed at The Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in February of 1956; the 2nd picture is far better at illustrating the scene at hand & also the more flattering of Marilyn, making it the ONE photo I would have used.

A single event in Marilyn's life more often than not is represented by a small group of pictures rather than one strong photo. Marilyn's trip to Bement, IL in 1955, 3 photos; a day in the life of Marilyn in New York, 1956, 4 photos; with Arthur Miller on the beach at Amagansett, NY, 4 photos. When covering a "life in pictures" of a famous woman who lived for 36 years in a mere 192 pages; I would think the selection process of the pictures to be used would be a little more thorough & precise so as to cover as much of that life as possible!

However, to the positive side, most photographs are presented in a very large, clean format so details are easy to see which is very much appreciated in a day of ever smaller images. I would say close to half of the pictures make very bold statements & are truly delightful to study; such as the on set photo of Marilyn (sipping from a bottle of Coke) and Jane Russell (checking her makeup in a hand held mirror) in their Little Rock costumes while making Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.

The majority of the pictures are black & white while the few color photos included are dark & muddy; not brilliant as one would expect. Quotations by Marilyn & others are liberally sprinkled throughout on brightly colored pages. This book is definitely an average attempt and not quite worth the hefty price it retails for. Look at the book before deciding whether to buy & then seek it at a discounted price!

Life in Pictures, a great picture book
I've got to say, the pictures in this book are amazing. The book is a little bigger than a notebook, and the pictures are just about full size, making them about 8x10. Which is great if you want to put them on your wall.

My only complaint about the pictures are: although there are about 2 or 3 pictures of her on the beach with the white bathing suit on, that's it. Why not put more of them, they are some of Marilyn's best pictures. Also, the pictures of her in the field in the blue dress, why not more? As is with the pictures of her in the field with the white dress. I don't understand.

I love all of the pictures of her at home in a relaxed state.

But the one thing that sensitive Marilyn Monroe fans might not like is the Foreword. David Thompson almost seems not to like her. But no one knows the exact truth about Marilyn's life, so the stuff he says may be true. If so, I feel sorry for her.

I don't know what to think of her, since I've read so much about her from different people. But it seems like she was a very complex person. Like myself, people don't know what to think about her. That's what I think draws me to her even more. I used to just love her for her wonderful pictures, but now it's fun learning more about her.

Although Mr. Thompson's foreword kind of irked me a little, this book is well worth it to a Marilyn fan or fan of beautiful pictures.

I hope this review helped someone. It's my first review, thanks for reading.

Gorgeous!
This gorgeous, classy book encompasses the lifespan of the young Norma Jeane Baker/Mortenson, from lonely little girl to unknown young model, and through her metamorphosis into luminous superstar Marilyn Monroe, as well as into the last days of her life. The story is told through photographs.

It is full of beautiful b&w and color photos, both portraits and unposed snapshots, many of which I haven't seen before. There are also many quotes included, both by MM and about her, and there is a brief timeline at the end of the book that gives an overview of many of the important events in her life. The very short biography at the beginning of the book is a bit drab, but the main story here is, of course, the pictures, which encompass so many of the moments of her life.

If you never got the chance to own Spada's "Monroe: Her Life in Pictures," this would make a nice replacement. This is a wonderful and eclectic gathering of photos, and would be an attractive addition to any MM library.