Sports Illustrated: Knockouts, Five Decades of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Photography [Hardcover]

Rick Reilly (Author), Steven Hoffman (Author), Steve Hoffman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 28, 2001

Sports Illustrated Knockouts: Five Decades of Swimsuit Photography celebrates the best of the Sports Illustrated annual swimsuit issue. Beginning with the inaugural issue on January 24, 1964, which featured model Babette March in a modest four-page spread, Knockouts goes on to document the evolution of the swimsuit issue through five decades of models who, largely by virtue of their appearances here, became celebrities, including Elle Macpherson, Cheryl Tiegs, Tyra Banks and Kathy Ireland. Besides assembling a selection of the best photographs in book form for the first time, Knockouts offers an ample selection of outtakes and other previously unpublished photos, various quotes from models, photographers, art directors, and commentaries on the logistics and technical aspects of the shoots and the exotic ports of call in which they were staged.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 276 pages
• Publisher: Sports Illustrated (September 28, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1929049471
• ISBN-13: 978-1929049479
• Product Dimensions: 11.8 x 1 x 11.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #268,669 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not quite perfect, July 17, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Sports Illustrated: Knockouts, Five Decades of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Photography (Hardcover)

Some great photography of some beautiful subjects. If you've seen the swimsuit issues you know the style. The photos range from around the days of Brinkley to Casta.

The only reason I say it's not quite perfect is that they seem to have been a little too ambitious on the size of the book. Almost every photo is stretched to the limits of the pages, which can make for great impact, but some of the photos have lost a little quality being blown up that much. You can see some graininess in several of the shots; I think most of them are the older ones. Most of the pages are fine however.

It would also have been nice to see some of the body paint pics in here but they are absent.

Overall a nice book.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars good clean fun, March 5, 2002

By 

"kay4487" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sports Illustrated: Knockouts, Five Decades of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Photography (Hardcover)

When I first discovered this one, I almost jumped on it. The Magazine (Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition) itself is almost never to be found in Germany, so this seemed to be the perfect alternative. And don't get me wrong: it's worth every penny, but: the picture quality changes a great deal throughout the book. Some are so good, it makes you cry - others are rather poor blow-ups from the magazine. I would have assumed that with all the production-value that you have here (hardcover, nice binding, dust-jacket etc.) the editors could have done more to exclude pictures with the above-mentioned problems. Another thing: do not expect too many pictures from before 1990, the subtitle "five decades of swimsuit photography" seems a bit misleading.
All in all: high production-value, many rather exciting PG-pictures of beautiful women on the beach and very few disappointments concerning picture quality.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Important and beautiful cultural/design record, November 13, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Sports Illustrated: Knockouts, Five Decades of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Photography (Hardcover)

I'm not the "target" audience, have never really paid much attention to the swimsuit issue. But I will in the future. The book is not only a celebration of the female figure, it's also a real gem in terms of design -- stunning, smart, sophisticated. Anyone who appreciates design/beauty/fashion/art will find this book a keeper.

Really intriguing to see the history of swimwear fashion, and more importantly, the history of the female figure.
Hoffman and Deford have juxtaposed the images interestingly; sometimes one is compelled on a level of pure design/beauty -- how a curve in the landscape, the female figure, or the swimsuit itself mirrors a curve in the image on the opposite page. Sometimes it is interesting just to see how a model or suit from the sixties so starkly contrasts with a model or suit from the nineties. I look at this book as an important cultural record.

The quotes are also interesting, well chosen and a great complement to the images.

A gift that I was surprised to receive, I found the book compelling enough to write my first review for amazon.