Some of us developed our love of photography from looking at the pictures in LIFE magazine. We probably didn't realize it at the time but the great Philippe Halsman influenced us more than any other photographer as he had more LIFE covers than any other artist. Many of his photographs are part of the American unconscious-- the beautifully cropped portrait of John Kennedy, Marily Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor et al. Mr. Halsman, while on photo assignments, came up with the most clever idea of asking his subjects to jump for him. This beautiful book containing photographs of 191 jumps is the result.

This obviously persuasive photographer got statesmen, politicians, artists, actors, writers, scientists, theologians, comedians-- apparently just about everyone he asked-- to jump although some invitees said "no." They included Van Cliburn, Ed Murrow, Dag Hammarskjold, Herbert Hoover and most certainly Eleanor Roosevelt. (Tallulah Bankhead kept one foot on the ground.) I hadn't seen this book in several years. The two photographs I remembered with those of Salvador Dali and Marilyn Monroe. Other favorite shots are of Kitty Carlisle and Moss Hart, Shirley Temple, Joanne Woodward, Marcia Davenport, Adlai Stevenson, Grace Kelly and Judge Learned Hand as they jump.

Mr. Halsman wrote a very thought-provoking introduction to this collection in which he gives his theories about "jumpology." He certainly writes with a great deal of insight as well as humor. Dame Edith Sitwell "could. . . barely walk. . . I did not ask her to jump because it was obvious that the only thing Dame Edith could do well was to sit well." Some of his statements ring true. I'm not ready to jump on some of the others. Mr. Halsman opines that usually we, to quote T. S. Eliot, put on a face to meet the faces," and hide our feelings under our facial masks. When we jump, however, our faces show our true selves. That makes perfectly good sense. Case in point: Richard Nixon still looks like a caricature of himself when he is jumping. The artists also has theories about why men jump with their arms pointed toward the ceiling-- one arm versus both arms-- the significance of crossing the arms, keeping the arms to one's side, the differences in what the same motions mean when applied to men and women, the significance of removing one's shoes, the position of the legs, etc. In short, a fascinating essay. (Of all the men who jumped for Mr. Halsman, the only male to remove his shoes, showing dapper, designer socks as we would expect, while keeping his double-breasted suit buttoned, was the Duke of Windsor. I wonder what all that means.)

If you like photography or amateur psychology or just want to smile after a hard day at work, you should relax with this book.

What else can I say? It's lightweight material (but you knew that), but this book documents a bygone era in a unique and unforgettable way. There are many images in the book that alone are worth the purchase price. In particular I like the photo of all of the Eisenhower brothers caught in the midst of cracking up over a good joke.

This is the perfect coffee table book (If you still have a coffee table). It has great pictures of famous people jumping.

I ran accross this book back in the late 80's can I gave it to a friend. She loved it and I have been looking for a copy ever since for myself. I finally found it at Amazon.

The picture of Nixon jumping is priceless. He looks happy! This is my second favorite picture Nixon (Nixon and Elvis is #1). These are unique pictures taken by a master photographer -- Priceless.

Philippe Halsman's Jump Book is not just for people who love photography. Oh no - no matter who you are, what your age, sex or nationality is, you will love this book. It has everything, from actors to politicians to artists and even royalty - up in the air!

Each person has his own way of jumping. One hides her legs in her skirt, the other bends them and yet a third person will kick them as high as possible. I think each person's jump tells us a little bit about who he or she is, really. Each jump also has its own setting -some are indoors and some are outdoors, each person picking the place they want to be photographed at.

The book is divided into sections, which makes it easy to compare people's jumps with their peers'.

This is for the open-minded, as it is not your regular "straight" photography.If you're interested in more convetional pictures, I recommend Halsman's Portrait book, which is also beautiful.