Rating: 
Summary: Unabashed Intentions
Review: This book has the guts to tackle the touchy subject of sexual awakening head-on. The prose under each picture is about sex, and the introduction to the book by L. James is about sex, too. This is a good thing. Since sex amongst young people is obviously a very real thing, why is it considered bad to address it in print or other artistic mediums? It is my opinion that anything having to do with the life process should be fair game for artistic representation, including sexual awakening. Those who would condemn this book are denying that such feelings and desires do exist amongst young people. They do exist, and how. I am nineteen years old, and the sexual confusions and longings of adolescence are still fresh in my mind. I had to see this controversial book for myself and see if Hamilton got it right. While his is an older man's perspective on the subject, he still did surprisingly well. While most of the pictures, (with some VERY striking exceptions) tend to be very similar and can get monotonous, the overall effect of the book is impressive and memorable. As long as freedom of artistic expression reigns, as opposed to fascist misinformation and ignorance, books like this will always have a secure place for those mature enough to understand and relate to them.
Rating: 
Summary: Another knockout album by the best nude photographer ever
Review: David Hamilton has done it again. This is by far my favorite album of his to date. Once again, this album is filled with absolutly beautiful soft focused images of the changing female body.
Probably my favorite part of this book is that most of it is in color which is different from "25 years". The pastels used in all the photos again bring out the feeling of innocence with these young beauties that Hamilton loves so much.
This book is published by the same company that did "25 years" so the two books go great with each other. This one is a little bit thinner which is a little downfall because you fall in love with Hamiltons photographs so easy that you dont want to stop browsing through them.
Although some people may find the work in this book and Hamiltons other books a little disturbing, I have yet to find one person that has found his works bad. Because of this, I am happy to display this on my coffee table for all visitors of all ages to look through.Ladies and Gentlemen, Dont miss this book. Hamilton is getting older now, and soon these books will be very hard to get, and very very expensive. Even though 50 dollars seems steep, suck it up and fork it out for this or any of his other works. You will not regret it.
Rating:
Summary: Barely Misses the Mark
Review: If I could have rated this book 4 1/2 or 4 3/4 stars I would have. It certainly is a beautiful artistic endeavor. However, it fails the mark of perfection because of a few (VERY FEW) photos that are too suggestive for girls of their age, and a few comments by the author that would seem to provoke dangerously misleading thoughts in the minds of young people who might get their hands on this book. As the step-dad of a teenage girl I have experienced first-hand the confusion of an easily inluenced child, who lacks the full capacity to reason and misperceives what she has seen and heard. Too many (pre-teen and teen) children think they are supposed to be sexually active, and there are certainly a few paragraphs, and several photos, in this book that would help contribute to that pattern of thought. Otherwise this is a finely crafted work. Many of the photos are soft, muted, elegant, and almost dream-like, while others are sharp and rich in color and contrast. There are full figure studies and a variety of portraits. Some of the girls look confused, content, generally happy, thrilled, curious, and some disgusted. Unlike similar works by other photographers, the majority of the models do not appear to be emotionless, melancholy, or tormented. There are no portrayals of violence or mishap. The quotes from classic poetry are at times provocative but still tasteful and refreshing, especially if you are one who enjoys traditional Western European poetry. The author/photographer makes several attempts at poetic verse but they do not work so well. I do realize that the entire theme of The Age of Innocence is the psychological tumult experienced by young girls who are approaching womanhood, so the sexual element does have to be "taken with a grain of salt." As an artist and photographer I do highly recommend this book and treasure my own copy, but I strongly suggest caution when selecting an audience to share it with; teenage boys are not a proper audience. Overall this is quite a clean representation of the human form and psychology of young women.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful, artful, yet at times disturbing.
Review: I ordered this book because I love art that depicts young girls. I have two daughters, and I consider them to be the most perfect works of art that ever existed. It is my life's goal to try and capture their perfection with a camera. I look for every new look, gesture, attitude as they grow and develop. I have read much about Hamilton's work. Some of what has been written has been viscously against it, and some vehemently for it. It seems that no one who ever bothered to write a review was able to look at it dispassionately. That is why I bought the book. Hamilton has apparently done what I want to do, in that he has produced images that fire the viewer's passions. In this book I found many, many fine images of young girls depicted exactly as I see them. The vast majority of them are posed so we can admire some aspect of their physical person, such as the curve of a jaw, the bud of a developing breast, or the sinewy young muscles beneath the skin of a thigh. At the same time, these pictures seem to expose some aspect of the model's spiritual self. I can't explain that further, except to say that I see something beyond the girl's body. I don't know how Hamilton did that, but to me, these are excellent works of art. The highest complement I can think of to give is that I would be proud to see my own daughters depicted as most of the girls in the book are. On the other hand, some of the photos show these young girls posing to purposely display their sexuality. This is exciting in a picture of a full-grown woman, but disturbing in this book. It is difficult for me to look at some of these girls, posed so provocatively, and not feel a sexual longing. As the father of two young girls, this bothers me a lot. If Hamilton took these pictures specifically to be disturb the viewer, then he succeeded. I also own "Radiant Identities" by Jock Sturges. Sturges also uses young female models as subjects. However, at no time does he ever pose his models in a sexually suggestive manner. With! out exception I would be proud to see my own children pose for him, as I know that they would be treated with respect and dignity. Which is not to say that Hamilton's models weren't. It's just that I was very disturbed by some of what I saw. In conclusion, this is a great book for those who appreciate the female form as an objet d'art. Hamilton's sense of form and composition is as good as I have ever seen. But the few pictures in this book that don't fit my idea of high art make it difficult to recommend it to a general audience. The viewer would have to be very mature and in control of his or her own primal urges. I always thought that I was a very mature aficionado of art, and yet began to doubt myself when I was moved as I was by a few of this images. Artists often purposely challenge us to move beyond complacency. Hamilton has produced a work with images that are both beautiful and disturbing, and as such, I believe he achieved his objective.
Rating:
Summary: As complex as its subjects
Review: This is possibly the most beautiful set of photo portraits I've ever seen. Like the subjects, though, the beauty has a scary side to it. There's a lot more to say. The pictures are intense, and more intense as a collection. I'm sure everyone who sees it will have more to say, and everyone will say something different. For that matter, I could discuss this in three or four contradictory ways. This time, I prefer to let the pictures speak for themselves and to let the readers form opinions of their own.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful Subjects
Review: Physical beauty is something that we have for only a brief period in our lives. It is a temporary stage during our lifespan. Unfortunately, we discourage young women from sharing their physical beauty with others who can appreciate it. It really is quite a shame that we try to enforce modesty. David Hamilton gave us this gift so that we may be able to share his admiration for the young, female physique. I am grateful to the young subjects, who were gracious enough to share their beauty with us. This is a remarkable book. It is obvious that David Hamilton is very passionate about his subjects. He has taken his appreciation and admiration for young women and shared that enthusiasm with the world. I highly recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful
Review: This book is beautiful. The young ladies in it are beautiful. Some of the pictures appear to be rather erotic. Others appear rather sensual. Most are in good taste. It is the captions that cause some of the pictures to take on a sensual/sexual overtone. This is really a study of the young woman's budding body. I was very impressed with the quality of the photography. Minus a few pictures, it would have been an excellent study of the beginning of a young girl's sensuality. Minus a few of those pictures, it would have been an excellent study of a young girl caught at the tip of adolescence with adulthood just ahead. Some of those girls didn't look so innocent! But overall, it was an excellent book!
Rating:
Summary: A Must Have
Review: What better subject for a talented artist to explore than the beauty of youth. As usual, Hamilton, presents his subject in a compelling and idyllic fashion. I also just recommended the Rituals of Summer DVD at Amazon for the Hamilton enthusiast. Perhaps Hamilton will follow the lead and create DVDs from his numerous video titles.
Rating:
Summary: The Age Of Innocence
Review: I bought this book about four years ago, and am still entranced and fascinated by Hamilton's work with the grade of film and the almost ethereal colour tones he has used to capture the innocent sensuality of the adolescent girls. As a budding photographer in Australia, he is not well-known in this country but as someone who is interested in promoting bodily pride and freedom with young people, he is doing a commendable job to add a sense of credibility and respect to photographic subjects that are unfortunately still regarded as a taboo in our so-called civilised world. I would thoroughly recommend it, and the text work is beautiful reading too.
Rating: 
Summary: Good but not great book
Review: I can see Hamilton's artistic roots in Renoir, a french impressionist painter. He also seems to draw heavily from fashion photography. His work is consistenly good. The photgraphs have good composition, solid craftsmanship, and nice visual appeal. In addition, the images are immediately understandable and accessable to the average viewer. Still, he never brings out his models' personality. Instead, he seems to impose his own vision of what a young virginal woman should be. If you want to see psychologically intense work, then I suggest that you look at Jock Sturgess. Sturgess seems to have a much better understanding of his models than Hamilton. I am troubled by the fact that Hamilton does not include many young men in his photographs. I find that the constant emphasis on the nude woman is tiring. I also feel that including male images makes artistic photography seem more whole and complete. This book is only for the serious collector of photograhy books. If you are looking for a gift, then a book about Renoir or Jock Sturgess will impress far more than this work.
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