I've been anxiously awaiting this book's release for the past couple of years. It was originally going to be titled Ralph Lauren and the Spirit of America. Rumor had it last year that Ralph previewed the book and demanded a re-write because he didn't like the copy.
It's a nice book, and if you are into Ralph Lauren, you should check it out. However, be aware that it's not up to the standard Ralph himself would have produced. It covers all aspects of Ralph Lauren, from his childhood and personal life to the history of Polo. It is fawning as the reviews say, and the writing is just plain boring at times. Still, it is a good overview of Ralph.
The photographs are where it really disappointed me. There are relatively few, and many of them have been seen before. The pictures are not comprehensive in any sense. It offers reprints of ads (mostly recent, although a few from over the years), a few personal photographs of Ralph and his family, and pictures of the stores (for some reason heavily focused on the Chicago location - almost no photos of the mansion). I would have appreciated a bigger selection from the archives or older ads and a few more "behind the scenes" shots. The shots of Ralph's office and of him in a fitting session are so small you can hardly make anything out of them.
I read the Michael Gross biography first, definitely more readable, but it's mostly second hand gossip. Here you get the sanitized version, in a prettier package. Don't expect any surprises though.
