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 Today's hunting parties by paparazzi chasing celebrities only confirms there are still people who pay enormous prices for celebrity photos. Had Marilyn Monroe been alive in this decade, her life would have been even more unmanageable.
Marilyn Monroe: A Life in Pictures, the only book to provide iconic images of the legendary bombshell, is a treasure for her fans. Inside this huge 8.5 x 11-inch sized book are a host of sensational photos by celebrity photographers that cover many aspects of the actress's life.
 An intro by David Thomson, the author of The New Biographical Dictionary of Film, Nicole Kidman, and The Whole Equation: A History of Hollywood, briefly touches on Monroe's life, her films, suitors, promiscuity and people's fascination with her.
All of this comes to life in the wonderful images that follow. They begin chronologically with Norma Jeanne (her real name) as a baby in 1927 and several as a young girl. Even they show her as a beauty with eyes like a refreshing pool of water that one can easily drown in.
Included in the book are many quotes by Monroe, some that reveal the depths of the feelings she struggled with. "No one told me I was pretty when I was a little girl. All little girls should be told they're pretty, even if they aren't," she said, as well as, "Dogs never bite me, just people."
Others provide quotes, too. Darryl Zanuck said, "Nobody discovered her, she earned her own way to stardom."
There's photos posing, applying makeup, in exotic locales, sports images, a nudie from a calendar, with husbands, co-stars and a few off-guard. Each shot boldly reveals some type of emotion - shyness, mischief, coyness, surprise, pride, danger and so many more.
Anyone buying this book should not expect each image to be perfectly shot and in great high resolution. There are 200 images from all walks of her life and truly this is an impressive collection that leaves little doubt about how Monroe's life unfolded. Thomson probably says it best in his quote, "Marilyn Monroe is legendary, her icon a smiling stamp for all ages. That's what Andy Warhol saw in the logo of her famous grin-brave, teasing, and beyond meaning."
David Thomson has been a director of Film Studies at Dartmouth College and contributed to many publications. Anne Verlhac is a design instructor and branding consultant. She lives in Paris with her husband and young daughter.
DATA ABOUT THE BOOK
Images ©Chronicle Books
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