Marilyn: Norma Jeane, by Gloria Steinem (Vista, £5.99 in UK)

If Marilyn Monroe were alive today, she would be 70 - "a shocking notion", according to Gloria Steinem. I don't see why; the idea of the one time sex goddess pottering around with grandchildren and geraniums is surely more comforting than shocking. This book was written to accompany some photographs of Monroe taken by an American photographer, George Barris, in June 1962; Barris's project had to be abandoned following the star's death in August of that year. Steinem became involved when somebody decided it was time to evaluate Marilyn as "an individual and an icon of continuing power". Straight biography it ain't; in her preface Steinem encourages the reader to make a beeline for whichever topic seems of greatest interest out of a series of chapter headings such as: "The Woman Who Will Not Die", "Among Women", "The Body Prison" and "Who Would She Be Now". The technique brings with it a certain amount of repetition, and there is a heavy emphasis on tragedy, fragility, and vulnerability; Barris's photos are suitably gorgeous, though disappointingly few in number.