Diane Arbus

In this book we follow Arbus' progress as a photographer - coming to see how the work of others influenced her, and how the "New Documents" exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art in 1967 was both a triumph for her an and acceleration of her emotional decline. And also, through the voices of her friends and colleagues, of her mother, sister, and brother, we follow the dangerous and ultimately fatal course of her struggle to confront the fears and anguish that pursued her throughout her life. Finally we come to understand why, despite growing recognition, she felt that her "gorgeous mountain of a life had become a desert," as she slipped closer and closer to the moment of utter despair--Jacket.