Jay JorgensenGrace Kelly: Hollywood Dream Girl

This is the most stunning photography book on Grace Kelly that I have ever seen! The authors did a beautiful job of providing high quality photos without splitting any FACES down the middle of the book binding. One of the worst things ever is when a beautiful picture is ruined by publisher’s decision to cut something down the middle. In this book there are amazing color and black & white photos and ample amount of text. Each film of Grace Kelly’s is explored as well as a small section in the back of her life afterwards as Princess Grace of Monaco. This book is a MUST for any Grace Kelly fan. I am so glad to finally have it in my collection as it is the superior book as far as picture books go! Well worth it.

Although I had caught movies with Grace Kelly for years, I was never really intrigued enough to know more than superficial facts about her. I was thinking this book would be another rehash of the "American Princess" story, but had seen enough to know the pictures would be a treat. So I decided to put in an order.I was unprepared for the gorgeous book that arrived. Even if I hadn't had a passing interest in Grace Kelly, I would have been impressed by the breathtaking beauty of the pictures. But this book has another remarkable feature: It is a fine study of an ambitious actress who found a place in Hollywood history through sheer force of will and an intelligence that translated into talent.The writer puts an emphasis on Kelly as an artist, rather than someone who went on to the even more grandiose and publicity-driven life of a princess. Her regrets at being silenced as a creative person and the forfeit of the film world and its fans are expressed very well. This is a story told with a different viewpoint--not unsympathetic, not fawning, but with a likability that has the reader wishing the tragic end could be avoided and the audience might see another performance from an actress who left us too few.The author has clearly taken great trouble to have found solid quotes and sources to validate the stories, rather than inventing them (as I saw one reviewer here seems to have believed.) It is quite an assemblage of information. The many Hollywood anecdotes give the book a vibrant quality that is solidified by these AMAZING pictures. The book sheds serious, non-sensationalist light on Grace's relationships (Gable, for example) which have been exploited, rather than contextualized by people who actually knew her, in tabloids and on click-bait websites.I thought this was a treat. It should delight anyone who knows much about film and the people who make it great, after decades. And for people like me, who wanted to know more and even share it with potential new fans. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!

The other reviewers weren't kidding about the spectacular quality of this book - lots of full color as well as (equally great) black & white photos...quite a number of which were full page size that appear suitable for photo framing. I appreciate all of these reviews, which convinced me to buy a book I wouldn't have otherwise - now it occupies a permanent place in my library. I actually wished the author had included more on the section about her early years as a princess in Monaco as this was one of her most glamorous phases. I always thought seeing the pictures of her in the royal palace (especially the full-length of Princess Grace in the main salon of the palace) would have added a real finishing touch to this otherwise unsurpassed photo book.My own personal opinion of Princess Grace is this: If ever one person on this earth was born to play the part of a real princess - I couldn't think of a more perfect example than Grace Kelly. Real life royalty can sometimes disappoint, such as Princess Fergie, & heavens forbid, Camilla Parker-Bowles, etc. My advice to any European royalty who want to look the part would be this: Just model yourself on Princess Grace....the more you look like her, the more you look like what a proper princess should be. This book is as fine a guide as you'll find - 5 Stars.

I received this incredible book in the mail the other day and was so impressed by it that I immediately logged into my amazon account to leave a review and was shocked to find that every review was not a 5 Star! I decided to investigate and found that the two star review was reviewed by a family friend who didn't even buy the book but based it on a terrible DAILY MAIL article promoting the book but adding incendiary journalistic content of their own. Very disingenuous. The one star review is because someone actually bought this book on a Kindle and complained because it was too small to read. Who buys a coffee table book on a kindle? Anyway, I digress. If you are a fan of Grace Kelly I defy you to find a better illustrated book on her Hollywood years. The HItchcock sections are literally pages and pages of amazing imagery. My personal favorite is DIAL M FOR MURDER and the unpublished wardrobe photos in that section blew me away. I can't recommend this book enough. A great gift for a Grace Kelly fan or a fan of Hollywood history. *****

If you're a fan of old Hollywood, then this book is right up your alley.Easily one of the nicest coffee table-style books I own - a classy tribute to beautiful actress Grace Kelly. Lavishly produced on high quality paper, it features hundreds of spectacular photographs as well as publicity materials related to Grace Kelly's short film career. Each of her films is covered in stunning detail, with many rare photographs and behind the scenes shots, including makeup and costume tests. The book also covers her growing up years, modeling, as well as her post-Hollywood life, as Princess Grace of Monaco. It's nearly 300 pages long. You won't be disappointed.

The book content was fine, except the binding was completely severed in the front. Not what I expected from an item marked as being in good condition.