famous (Thames & Hudson, $34.95) reveals an era of celebrity when the paparazzi still used film and pushed the medium to its limits, when stars were well-dressed in public and generally glamorous, and when this combination made being famous look really good. Filled with a hundred and ninety-two pages of full-bleed black- and-white photographs, this coffee table book begins with intimate shots of Brigitte Bardot in Paris, Tahiti, and Saint-Tropez, and documents celebrities like Sophia Loren, Serge Gainsbourg, Raquel Welch, Clint Eastwood, Michael Jackson, Princess Grace, Mick Jagger, and one of my favorites: a classic trio of powerhouse models, Naomi Campbell, Christy Turlington, and Kate Moss. famous is the Who’s Who of era when time was more precious and the photograph was a lucky moment of ingenuity. Philippe Garner, the International Head of Twentieth- Century Decorative Art & Design at Christie’s, writes in the book’s foreword, “Here is a raw and dramatic genre, in which authenticity, spontaneity… and immediacy of the subject are all.” famous compiles the work of Paris- based partners Bruno Mouron and Pascal Rostain into a charming peek back in time. famous demonstrates its appeal to those fascinated with celebrity, and it shows how well the old technology and wardrobe made being famous appear tasteful.
