James Dean

Timed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of James Dean's death, this beautifully designed book features popular and previously unpublished photos of the actor, many of which were drawn from his family's collection. Though a number of the photos are classic Dean-him walking alone, ever-present cigarette dangling from his lips, or scowling at the camera-there are also several of him as a child and as an awkward, teenager who, despite some unwieldy glasses, still bore the handsome face that would make rebellion cool. Perry does an admirable job of uncovering this early history through interviews with everyone from Marcus Winslow, Dean's cousin and executor, to his drama teacher and childhood pastor in Fairmount, Indiana. This book is not so much a probing study of the man as it is an overview of his life, however, and Perry's sometimes superficial treatment of controversial aspects of Dean's history may disappoint. (When addressing the issue of the actor's widely suspected homosexuality, for example, Perry equivocates, calling Dean ""a great experimenter"" who ""avidly and almost greedily soaked up all the experiences life could offer."") But the book's primary draw is its photos, and in this regard, it does not disappoint.