Rating: 
Summary: Beautiful and moving
Review: We (my wife and I) have given this book as a gift several times. The photography is of course fantastic, but the collection of subjects is even better. So moving, so touching, an eloquent sense of artistic observation without any air of challenge or defiance. Fabulous!
Rating:
Summary: The beauty, dignity & grace of modern women captured
Review: WOMEN makes a powerful statement on many levels. On the most obvious level these are great photographs taken by a master that are beautifully displayed in full-page and two-page formats. 63 black and white and 59 color photographs from Annie Leibovitz, who is one of our most famous and popular portrait photographers, are a visual treat. Each picture is accompanied by a simple caption: the subject's name, profession, and where the picture was taken. All seem to have been taken in 1999, the year the book was published. The captions define the subjects while the pictures open a window into their world. Leibovitz makes a statement on the status and condition of women in our society in this collection of photographs. This Leibovitz does well. She is a photographer of the rich and famous and these women are well represented in this collection. There are 12 actresses, 7 artists, 6 musicians, 6 writers, 4 performance artists, 3 First Ladies, 3 CEOs, 2 poets, 2 dancers, 2 Supreme Court justices, 2 comedians, 2 models, a general, a Secretary of State, a Cherokee chief, an opera singer, and an astronaut represented in the book. But everyday working women are also well represented. A waitress, a maid, a dragster driver, a police woman, a sewing machine operator, 2 teachers, soldiers, coal miners, farmers, restaurant customers, debutantes, cheerleaders, doctors, scientists, and activists also share these pages. Athletes are also well represented. Young women (students, a choir, and all-girl gang members) share the pages with older women. Sisters are photographed together and mothers with their children. What is revealed is the diversity and richness of women. A set of photographs at the end of the book shows two views of each of four Las Vegas showgirls. Each is pictured in color in their stage costumes opposite a black and white photo of them out of costume. The theme of these seems to be the comparison of the natural vs. the adorned or crafted image of woman. All the other women in the book are represented by one image. At the end of the book there are six pages where a brief biography of each subject is given. These are valuable background for each picture giving us a better look into the lives of the subjects. The essay by Susan Sontag discusses the meaning of photographing women and the messages received by viewing pictures of women. She devotes a lot of her discussion to the role of female beauty in society. Its a wonderful essay to read and to accompany these photographs. These images of the beauty, dignity, and grace of modern women captured by one of our master photographers are inspiring and thought provoking. Indulge yourself and spend some time with this great book.
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