"A beautifully understated look at an American icon." Library Journal

In July 1962, a month before her death, Marilyn Monroe sat down at home with the journalist Richard Meryman and talked for four hours. It was meant to be an interview about fame. It became an account of her whole life.

LIFE published a fraction of it. The full transcript and tapes went into Meryman's files and stayed there. The photographs had the same fate: Allan Grant shot the session in her own house, the only shoot ever taken there and her last formal sitting, and just eight of his frames ran with the article. The rest sat in his safe.

This book brings both together for the first time. The complete, restored transcript has Marilyn on her childhood, the studio system, her craft, celebrity and being looked at as a sex symbol, by turns funny, serious and searching. Around it sit more than 400 of Grant's photographs, most never published: Marilyn in casual clothes, relaxed and at home, a long way from the publicity stills.

For anyone who loves photography, film history or Marilyn herself, it is the closest thing there is to hearing her speak for herself.

• The complete, restored transcript of her final interview
• More than 400 photographs by Allan Grant, most never published before
• Her last formal photo session, and the only one taken in her home