Personal Best [Hardcover]

Elliott Erwitt (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 31, 2006

This stunning assembly of work was personally selected by Erwitt himself. Most of these images have never been published before. The generous trim size and large number of double-page spreads allow you to admire the master's technique and artistry up close. Every image is photography at its most ebullient and life-enhancing and each reflects the scope of Erwitt's observant and eclectic eye. Here is a fitting tribute to this Magnum photographer who has shot such Hollywood legends as Marlene Dietrich and Marilyn Monroe, yet whose delight in everyday irony has captured many witty moments, including his famous portraits of people and their dogs.

Editorial Reviews

Review

His iconic shots, powerful and playful, have been gathered in a retrospective volume. It's much more than a greatest-hits package. -- The Boston Globe, October 15, 2006

About the Author

Born in Paris in 1928, Elliott Erwitt arrived in the U.S. in the late 1930s. Establishing himself in the 40s and 50s as a leading magazine photographer, he joined the prestigious Magnum Agency in 1953. In addition to his work in magazines, he achieved great success as an advertising photographer. He currently lives in New York City.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 445 pages
• Publisher: teNeues (October 31, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 3832791620
• ISBN-13: 978-3832791629
• Product Dimensions: 14.4 x 11.1 x 2.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,249,992 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars more is less, December 21, 2006

By 

des hill (london) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Personal Best (Hardcover)

having just received this book I very quickly came to the conclusion that the "design" is a serious impediment to using and enjoying the book. First of all the weight, size and bulk make it impossible to enjoy with any degree of comfort - and at normal 'reading distances' the double page spreads require the head to roam around the page. Secondly, many of the images across double pages have their effect ruined by the spine. Many of the double page spreads are grossly over enlarged - some are rather out of focus to start with. Anybody interested in Erwitt would find much in these pages to enjoy, and indeed many of the images are of great quality. Sad that the "designer" has strove to acheive the wow factor associated with a slab of book on a bookshelf, rather than actually try to understand the elementary aspects of using and enjoying a book.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Five star pictures in a one star frame, February 9, 2011

By 

Robin Benson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Personal Best (Paperback)

How unfortunate that these world-class photos are presented in totally the wrong editorial format and more so because the solution would have been simple: a landscape shaped book.

The 448 pages are printed on a reasonable matt art paper and this makes it a quite chunky book so that it cannot be opened without the pages curving into the gutter. The problems start with so many photos a spread wide with any centrally framed detail merging into the spine and basically destroying the photo. A landscape shaped page would avoid all the spread photos from having their centers ruined and allow for a margin round each as well.

Another problem is that most of the photos bleed off the page, which eliminates page numbers. To get round this, every so often, a photo has generous margins allowing for some numbers. The back of the book has nine pages of thumbnails and page numbers for every page even though throughout the bleed pages there are no numbers.

As to the photos, there are many classics here that are frequently shown whenever Erwitt is mentioned in print. The wonderful one of a mother looking lovingly at her baby on a bed (1953) that was in the Family of Man exhibition, the landscape shot of the a car racing a steam train in Wyoming 1954, two New York dogs, one huge and the other tiny and their owner's legs from 1974. There are several fun shots like the art class with the painters in the nude and the model fully clothed. There is another editorial problem here because as far as I can see the 343 photos are shown in no order. Surely, a book like this would do them in date order or themes: dogs (one of Erwitt's favorites) countries and cities; humor; children; New York; portraits etcetera.

The publishers have several Erwitt books in print and it looks like they all have the same editorial problems I've mentioned. This is so unfortunate because his work is part of the history of photography over several decades and their creativity would really have come across if more thought had been given to their presentation.

+++LOOK AT SOME INSIDE PAGES by clicking 'customer images' under the cover.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Homage to a living legend of street photography, June 1, 2010

By 

Bartleby (NY, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Personal Best (Hardcover)

The master of the "indecisive moment" seemed to know just what he wanted when pulling together images for this project. "Eliot Erwitt: Personal Best" is a must for any photography lover or fan of life's funny moments. The printing and binding are the same quality one expects from a legendary house like teNeues. You will not be disappointed!

Other reviewers have mentioned the design of the book as a hindrance - for me, seeing the photographs printed large, full size, offers a chance to see what a real gallery print might look like, rather than a small, web / computer version of Erwitt's work that I have seen so many times online.

This collection has some of the best black and white street photography ever!