In this memoir, singer-songwriter Patti Smith shares tales of New York City : the denizens of Max's Kansas City, the Hotel Chelsea, Scribner's, Brentano's and Strand bookstores and her new life in Brooklyn with a young man named Robert Mapplethorpe--the man who changed her life with his love, friendship, and genius.

A master of the risqué, Helmut Newton scandalized and intrigued the world for half a century with his provocative photographs of women and his "bad boy" persona. Here, Newton presents a candid portrait of himself, providing insights into the connection between his life and work. Born in Berlin in 1920 to a wealthy Jewish family, Newton was overprotected. He purchased his first camera at 12, beginning a fascination with photography. Barely eighteen when Kristallnacht tore Germany apart, Newton managed to escape, heading for China. He arrived in Singapore and soon became a gigolo and lover of an older woman. But talk of interning German Jews became prevalent even on the streets of Singapore, so he decamped once more and spent five years in the Australian army. Then he opened his first studio in Melbourne, and married. In the 1950s Newton moved to Paris, where he continued to astonish clients with his beautiful and provocatively erotic images of women. His distinctive visual vocabulary has been widely imitated.--From publisher description.

This dual biography reveals, as never before, the secret life and the extraordinary relationship of Hollywood's legendary pair: Greta Garbo and Cecil Beaton, the celebrated Hollywood photographer who immortalized her image. With provocative details about their personal lives and a subtle focus on their work, Diana Souhami divulges the secrets of Greta and Cecil's unconventional loves and obsessions. It is a compelling tale of a strange romance where boundaries merge between image and reality, fact and fantasy, male and female, and art and life. Their ardent affair, Garbo's discreet liaisons with the women she loved, and Beaton's charismatic yet emotionally distraught personality are brought to life in Diana Souhami's hallmark style. Photographs, letters, and a wealth of new research reveal the obsessions, true desires, and secrets of Hollywood behind closed doors.