The National Enquirer: Thirty Years of Unforgettable Images (Hardcover)

~ Editors of National Enquirer (Author) "OPRAH WINFREY 1994 With the Capitol Building in the distance, the talk-show industry's national monument reaches the 15-mile mark in her rain-soaked quest to finish..." (more)
Key Phrases: New York, Michael Jackson, White House (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The splashy photo spreads in The National Enquirer: Thirty Years of Unforgettable Images prove that the Enquirer has become what Life magazine was in its day: the image bank of American pop culture. They're all here, big as life--or, in the cases of Elvis, Ted Bundy, John Lennon, Grace Kelly, and River Phoenix, big news in their coffin close-ups. The photos are haunting: Columbine High killer Eric Harris at age 6 in a skeleton-with-bloody-skull-mask Halloween costume; Eric Clapton and his son just hours before the boy's window plunge. The book has lots of laughs, too: Bryant Gumbel and Matt Lauer getting a lap dance from three transsexual waitresses; Van Damme with his third and fourth wives on either arm (in identical dresses). Witty layouts predominate: weirdly well preserved Michelle Phillips and a mummy pose opposite a little girl and Michael Jackson (whose nose is disintegrating). The glimmer of glamour vies with the shock of decay--often in images of the same celeb. Watch Liza morph from tot to sot! A feast for inquiring minds. --Tim Appelo

From Publishers Weekly

O.J. Tonya Harding. Jim and Tammy Faye. Monica. The lurid images of our collective unconscious return in this paperback edition of 2001's lush coffee table photo gallery from America's most prestigious celebrity scandal sheet. Included is former Talk editor Jonathan Mahler's short history of the Enquirer, from its early days as a mob-funded purveyor of pulp to its current status as a pillar of the ever-more-tabloidized mainstream, as well as an intro from American Media editorial director Steve Coz. Really, though, it's all about the pictures. The emphasis is on the profanation of the sacred through the display of movie stars, über-models and rock deities in all their aging, haggard, strung-out, stubbly humanity. Few come off looking good aside from those-like JonBenet Ramsey-who are bathed in the glamour of imminent martyrdom. The editors even reprint mug shots and high school yearbook photos. Lengthy captions give all the juicy details, but the wittiest commentary is the thematic arrangement of facing-page photos: father-daughter relationships are exemplified by a hugging Aaron and Tori Spelling and a smooching Woody and Soon-Yi, while another pointed match-up pairs a photo of a mummified ghoul with one of Michael Jackson. You should put it down, but you just can't.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 255 pages
• Publisher: Miramax Books; 1st edition (November 21, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786868481
• ISBN-13: 978-0786868483
• Product Dimensions: 11.8 x 9.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #35,748 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #19 in	Books > Arts & Photography > Photography > Photojournalism
  #67 in	Books > Arts & Photography > Photography > Photo Essays
  #70 in	Books > Arts & Photography > Photography > Portraits

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars All your favorite celebrities--at their self-indulgent worst, November 14, 2001

By A Customer

A delightful collection of the "beautiful people" caught on film in some of their most embarrassing moments. You'll laugh out loud at the turn of each page. The excess, the arrogance, the shame of it all-as J.R. Ewing said-- "High quality dirt!"

What's your pleasure? Cleavage? Plenty to choose from. Weddings that went kaput? No problem. Mug shots? They're all here in living color.

In addition to these embarrassing moments, the hard cover book is punctuated with the occasional image of class, such as Audrey Hepburn in refugee camp in Somalia.

It's the perfect coffee table book for yourself or the "must have" item on everyone's Christmas list.

My favorite? Tough choice, but I'll go with the shot of a very pre-occupied Martina Navratilova.

Worth every penny!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Transcends into the realm of art. Seriously!, January 25, 2002

By	repelli "repelli" (Virginia, United States) - See all my reviews

The Enquirer is infamous for its shameless portrayals of American celebrities (and the odd royalty living elsewhere). This amazing collection of photography though is something even more rewarding than the weekly grind-out of the delightful tabloid. The images are juxtaposed SO skillfully, and with great humor. A dumpy, potato-like Xaviera Hollander and beau just across the page from slender and youthful Tommy Lee and Heather Locklear - a horrible, prophetic Dorian Gray vision of the future! Plenty of foreshadowing photos of relationships doomed to failure, a gallery of mugshots and coffin shots. The famous Elvis casket photo is easily eclipsed by the very gruesome River Phoenix shot. If I had to pick one shot as a favorite, it would be the Christmas cheer of Anna Nicole Smith and her 90-year old sugar daddy, the expression on her face instantly confirming the nation's worst speculations of that relationship. The best cross-page pairing is aging-but-sexy Joan Collins in her bikini across from a braid-wearing Sean Connery in HIS futuriffic bikini from a 70s Sci-fi movie. Can anyone possibly think he's the sexiest man alive after seeing THAT??? The book also maintains that peculiar and annoying quality of the Enquirer that some soccer-mom favorite celebrities are somehow "untouchable" - Oprah and Rosie O'Donnell are visions of personal triumph and noblesse, never to be shown in an unflattering manner. Despite that minor gripe, you can't afford to miss this photo treasury of everything beautiful about the supermarket years of the Enquirer. I'm hoping they do a companion volume of the best of the Enquirer's "shock value" black & white early years.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Transcends into the realm of art. Seriously!, January 25, 2002

By	repelli "repelli" (Virginia, United States) - See all my reviews

The Enquirer is infamous for its shameless portrayals of American celebrities (and the odd royalty living elsewhere). This amazing collection of photography though is something even more rewarding than the weekly grind-out of the delightful tabloid. The images are juxtaposed SO skillfully, and with great humor. A dumpy, potato-like Xaviera Hollander and beau just across the page from slender and youthful Tommy Lee and Heather Locklear - a horrible, prophetic Dorian Gray vision of the future! Plenty of foreshadowing photos of relationships doomed to failure, a gallery of mugshots and coffin shots. The famous Elvis casket photo is easily eclipsed by the very gruesome River Phoenix shot. If I had to pick one shot as a favorite, it would be the Christmas cheer of Anna Nicole Smith and her 90-year old sugar daddy, the expression on her face instantly confirming the nation's worst speculations of that relationship. The best cross-page pairing is aging-but-sexy Joan Collins in her bikini across from a braid-wearing Sean Connery in HIS futuriffic bikini from a 70s Sci-fi movie. Can anyone possibly think he's the sexiest man alive after seeing THAT??? The book also maintains that peculiar and annoying quality of the Enquirer that some soccer-mom favorite celebrities are somehow "untouchable" - Oprah and Rosie O'Donnell are visions of personal triumph and noblesse, never to be shown in an unflattering manner. Despite that minor gripe, you can't afford to miss this photo treasury of everything beautiful about the supermarket years of the Enquirer. I'm hoping they do a companion volume of the best of the Enquirer's "shock value" black & white early years.