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.


Barely Misses the Mark   December 10, 2003
 38 out of 48 found this review helpful

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 influenced 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 photos in this book that would help contribute to that pattern of thought. There is some mild homosexual content in a few frames and some of the writings. 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--with a few exceptions--of the human form and psychology of young women.


A book that should be shared between mothers and daughters   April 12, 1999
 30 out of 37 found this review helpful

I find it interesting and in some ways disturbing how few (openly at least) female viewpoints are expressed among the reviews of this book. Indeed, some of reviews make it appear that there are quite a few males out there who believe females are a sexual "tabula rasa" on which they can write their judgements of what constitutes morally appropriate behavior.

This book must be understood not simply as art, but as a psychological statement, namely that sexuality exists within each of us from infancy on and parents and society deny that at their own risk.

When I was the age of the girls in this book there was no one with the courage to come forward and openly depict the flowering of female sexuality. I lived with confusion and shame about my body and my desires, hurtful feelings that lasted until I was well into my adulthood.

I came across this book in a store one day while looking for something else. I spotted the title and I vaguely remembered a news story about some people wanting to ban it, so I thought I would look at it out of curiosity. The images in it were so beautiful I almost started to cry right there, it was as though I found vindication for the very core of my being.

After taking it home, I decided to share it with my nine-year old daughter with whom I had just recently had "The Talk". It was wonderful being able to show her how her body would change and how she would be beautiful even as she changed from a girl into a woman. It is true there are already books out there that are supposed to address the issue, but so often they take a clinical approach that is scary in its own right. The artistry of this book, combined with the photographer's selection of natural-looking girls (you will not find made-up or coiffed girls in the pages of this book), will, in my opinion, help any girl appreciate her changing body.

Mothers, share this book with your daughters, it will help make so clear the many changes they are going through and how they are positive. No girl should ever have to feel shame of her own body and this book is an important step.