Legends: The Century's Most Unforgettable Faces

by LIFE (Editor)

An album of thirty color and ninety-eight black-and-white photographs captures the twentieth century's most famous faces from politics, the arts, sports, and more, accompanied by the penetrating observations of their equally famous peers. 30,000 first printing.

Genres: Nonfiction, Photography, Art, History, Picture Books, Biography, Coffee Table Books

176 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1998

About the author

Life was an American magazine published weekly from 1883 to 1972, as an intermittent "special" until 1978, and as a monthly from 1978 until 2000. During its golden age from 1936 to 1972, Life was a wide-ranging weekly general interest magazine known for the quality of its photography.

Reviews

[Adia]

"Legends are a bit like movies themselves: a huge screen on which we project our hopes, fears, and desires..."
—from the introduction

"I should have guessed that it would be too much to ask to grow old with him and see our children grow up...so now he is a legend when he would have preferred to be a man."
—Jackie O. Kennedy about JFK

[Carolina Colleene]

Language: PG (3 swears, 0 "f"); Mature Content: PG; Violence: PG
It's a simple book of pictures and quotes, but I'm fascinated by the idea that these men, women, and children were legends -- especially by the ones I didn't know by name or face.

[Karah]

It marks assurance to praise another person's gifts. I appreciate learning how luminaries assess each other. On the back cover, there's some fun facts which I won't spoil for future readers.

KUDOS!!!!

[Paul Baker]

Exceptional collection of photographs of the most impressive people of the 20th Century, aided by terrific quotes.

[Catherine]

Lovely photographs

[Madame Jane]

Always a favourite of mine. The quotes used to describe the legends are perfect.

[Bonni Sweet]

Not bad

[RK Byers]

lots of pretty pictures & good quotes.

[Charles]

Given that this is published by Life, the photos are of course first-rate, all of them capture the essence of the person, independent of what they are doing at the time the shutter was snapped. However, the quotes about the person in the photo sometimes have an even greater power.
My favorite quote is by Graham Greene and it refers to Jean Harlow, “Her technique was the gangsters’ technique – she totes a breast like a man totes a gun.” A good second is by Harry Truman, “Men make history and not the other way around.” A bit sexist for modern times, but the point is still valid.
This is a good book, a surprising combination of wisdom, images of people that did many good and bad things and the powerful synergy between the two. My only complaint is that it is too heavily biased with entertainment figures.

[Jim]

My favorite photo is the one of Mae West. That woman exuded sensuality. The one of Madonna ain't bad either.

The most striking photo, IMHO, is a photo of Malcolm X in profile. The photo that moved me the most is one of Anne Frank as a child. She looks like the embodiment of innocence. Also, the photos of Andy Warhol, Marlene Dietrich, Josephine Baker, and Bobby Fisher are compositionally superb.

My favorite quote in this collection is by Anna Quindlen, in reference to Dr. Seuss: "He is remembered for the murder of Dick and Jane, which was a mercy killing of the highest order."

[Tracee]

Interesting photos and quotes. Interesting choices of "most unforgettable faces". Sadly, several of the people in these photos have since passed, som before their time. Ashamed to admit I didn't know who they all were so I did a bit of research to gain insight and refresh my memory.

[Jessie]

Found this book in a box and read it. It was an interesting read of quotes from other famous people about other famous people. It made you realize all the talent that we have lost in the 20th century.

[Kathryn]

I enjoyed the quotes more than the photography.

[Meg Clayton]

photography,history

[Dick]

Here you will find faces you may have forgotten by now. Good selection of people we knew from the news - from politics, to movies to other entertainment media. Good coffee table book.

[C]

A stunning collection of portraits with compelling quotes about the subjects, by other celebrities. I found myself moved, over and over again.

[Emily D]

Beautiful photos, crisp copy. You can play a game with it too.....cover the names and guess the people. If everyone guesses right, then they really are iconic.

[Tobi ﾄﾋﾞ]

Series: Reading my mother’s favourite books of all time and judging her them.

written by idiots