Paparazzi are "the result of a collision between a culture obsessed with celebrity and an established tradition of street photography," explains Howe, a former New York Times Magazine picture editor. The best photos taken by paparazzi, he says, have an element of confrontation, whether it's Cameron Diaz attempting to cover herself with an umbrella on a sunny day in Beverly Hills, Princess Diana forcing her hand in front of a camera, or Jackie Kennedy pulling her turtleneck up past her ears in an effort to cover her face. Howe's saucy yet erudite look at celebrity culture also illuminates the barely respected paparazzi themselves, from Rino Barillari, one of the original paparazzi of the Via Veneto in Rome, to Brittain Stone, lead editor at Us Weekly. It's a captivating read, bursting with gritty images of famous people in everyday scenarios, interviews with photographers and journalists about some of the biggest celebrity news incidents in recent American history and cheeky attitude (e.g., in the opening pages, Howe lists the "cast," giving descriptions for each major player in the book. Susan Sarandon's description reads: "If you don't know who she is, you're reading the wrong book").
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