Amazon.com's Reviews of AN EYE FOR BEAUTY

Stefan Avalos,   Film Director  (The Last Broadcast, The Ghosts of Edendale)
Being a red-blooded man, I naturally flipped to the photographs of Bo, the moment I got this gorgeous book in the mail. They do not disappoint; lovingly chosen, and beautifully printed, each of them isa work of art - as is the woman in them. However, I am finding the interviews that Robert Vavra did with various people to be as (or more) intriguing. John Derek's history is really an interestingone: from old school cinema (he was in the "Ten Commandments" - and people like Leni Riefenstahl are quoted in this book) to being a defining person of 1970's and 80's pop culture. It is a fascinating cross section of several decades -- and a vision of how it once was (if you were lucky enough to be one of the beautiful people) I also find interesting the reaction from people seeing the book in my living room. Upon thumbing through it, Men and women of all ages, say the same thing: "My God, she really was something."

Linda Evans,   Actress
I feel so fortunate to have loved and married a man who opened my eyes to the beauty all around us. Once you see the world through the lens of John Derek's eyes it will never look the same! What an exceptionaly talented man. Robert Vavre has done a magnificent job of sharing these unseen, unknown photos of Bo with all of us.

Richard T. Herwig Jr.   Filmmaker
As a visual artist I was totally inspired by the journey and the work as seen thru photographer John Derek's camera. Every artist has a muse and John's eye captures his beautifully. It doesn't hurt that his is the flawless Bo Derek. What a talent. This book inspires and I find myself going back into it looking to catch a bit of John's passion and creativity. Thanx to Robert Vavra for allowing us a glimpse into John and his wonderful obsession with beauty.

Ursula Andress,  Actress
In our world of today, so lacking in beauty, what a gift is this book. John's eye for beauty is needed now more than ever. And here we have it to touch us and treasure forever in this lovely book created by Robert Vavra.

Gerry Spence,  Trial Lawyer
AN EYE FOR BEAUTY is a deserved and grand tribute to the photographic talent
of John Derek and to the beauty of Bo. I am proud to be part of the book's round table discussion which includes Shania Twain, Linda Evans, Ursula Andress, Elmer Bernstein, and others.

Bryan Single,  Documentary Filmaker & Photographer
Though I'm rarely at a loss for words, I can't think of a recommendation to more adequately do justice to this photographic essay than this accurate description that appears on the flaps of its dust jacket: This collection of photographs is unique, for it is unlikely that any other noted photographer or painter has concentrated exclusively for twenty-five years on one model. Salvador Dali painted his wife and inspiration, Gala: however, he also graced his canvases with other images. Alfred Stieglitz not only did portraits of Georgia O'Keeffe but also focused his camera on different subjects. From 1973 to 1998, John Derek only photographed his wife and muse, Bo. Since John Derek died, Bo has been photographed by other renowned cameramen. None, however, have captured her beauty as did her husband who had studied his wife from adolescence to maturity until he knew every angle of her face and its response to light as if it had been his own. Now, Robert Vavra, bestselling author-photographer and Derek friend, has combined words and photographs to create this singular book. In conversation with John's wives Ursula Andress, Linda Evans and Bo, together with the words of eight Derek friends, Vavra has produced a revealing and fascinating document describing one man's obsession with beauty and his photographic odyssey to capture it. In these pages, Bo Derek's "10"-rated good looks will live forever, as will the art of John Derek who, no one can deny, had "an eye for beauty."

Robert Daley,   Author
An actor named John Derek married three times. His wives were three of the most beautiful women of this or any other age: Ursala Andress, star of the James Bond movie DR. NO; Linda Evans, star of the TV series DYNASTY, and finally Bo Derek, star of the movie TEN. John Derek also became a famous photographer, particularly of Bo Derek whose flawless face and flawless form he photographed thousands of times, photos that then graced the covers--and inside pages--of
Playboy. Now author/photographer Robert Vavra a friend of the Dereks, has put
together a hundred or more of these Bo Derek photos, to which he has added his own interviews with all three wives, plus his own personal remeniscenses of Derek and of the three women. The result is a beautiful and also thoughtful book. I would give it a perfect TEN.

Mary Daniels,  Chicago Tribune
As photography books go, this one is a perfect "10," just like the exquisite beauty of the subject, actress Bo Derek. Yet it is so much more. How likely is it that one world-renowned photographer, Robert Vavra, author of 36 best selling books, would take a close-up view of the career and work of another professional photog and create a book about it? Since Vavra and the Dereks were friends though the decades, Vavra
had access to their private lives and intimate thoughts. He also had friends in common, composer Elmer Bernstein, trial lawyer Gerry Spence, Playbody Director of photogrpahy Gary Cole, among others ..and how likely is it that Derek's previous two wives, other legendary beauties, Ursula Andress and Linda Evans, might also contribute in a nostalgic and friendly way to a unique "round-tale" discussion in the
text of the book? It is that "Impressionistic Portrait" of John Derek's complex personality and Renaissance Man talents, along with the actor's 25-year obsession with photographing the iconic California beauty of his last wife over and over again, that reveals a surprising and unconventional love story. In this day of serial love
affairs and marriages, it heartening to read of a love between two uncommonly beautiful people that endured. One that has Pygmalion overtones to be sure, but one that leaves the reader wondering, who truly had the greater influence over the other?
The incomparable beauty of Bo Derek can still be honored and appreciated today by men of a certain age who lived in the time when she reigned supreme as the American ideal of feminine beauty...and yet still by those younger ones who perhaps wish they had.

Dick Boera  
This handsome volume will surely be treasured by admirers of both Dereks as well as a vast audience of others who have `un ojo por belleza'...of a heavenly body...and will surely come to appreciate the photographer who captured it. I didn't realize who the late John Derek was - other than a photographer - until I saw those photos of him as a young actor. I knew there was something haunting about his face, but couldn't
place it until now. Robert Vavra has certainly done justice to John by creating this elegant album, looking back on a unique partnership. Derek's collection would surely have been filed and forgotten if Vavra hadn't undertaken the selfless initiative to create another masterpiece from someone else's photos. (He even resisted the impulse to include a few of his own shots of Mrs. Derek `a la Godiva' that have appeared in other volumes.) To have done so with Bo's wholehearted support makes the resultant package especially significant and all the more valuable. Of course, there's the problem of being distracted from the prose by so much flesh on display (what a treat for mankind that she's so unselfconscious about nudity), but this octogenarian - who's been a fan since "10" - will risk the coronary by re-visiting a few dozen pages a few dozen times. I can only envy Vavra's having "strolled Seville's jasmine-scented darkness with Bo"...and others during the course of the preparation of this book.
Just in case you missed another recent Vavra volume (2007) - to further enhance his own reputation as the world's premier photographers of horses - treat yourself to a copy of Vavra's Vision, a 60-year retrospective of equine images. His 2006 classic,
Michener's the Name, a photographic tribute to the famed author who first recognized his behind-the-lens and writing talents, is another must-add-to-your-collection treasure.

P. Macomber
What a treat for this generation who never knew the erotic, sexy beauty of Bo Derek in the flesh - I've never seen a book with such classy sexiness. The photography is quite simply sensational with that classic 70's mystique.

Deborah Bowers,  Photographer
An important and well documented history of John Derek's artistic eye for beauty, love, and creativity with an exceptional array of photos. It is a joy to behold.

John M. Dixon,   Photographer
As a professional photographer myself, I have long appreciated and admired the work of John Derek. When I heard that the book "An Eye for Beauty" was out, I was excited to get my hands on it. I wasn't disappointed! This fantastic book shows the beauty that is Bo and the talent of the photographer, John. If you are a fan of photography or of beautiful women, than this is the book for you.