Photgraphy: Ron Galella: Paparazzo Extraordinaire!

Mick Jagger's middle-finger salute from 1983 (Ron Galella)

Ron Galella was given the frankly dubious title "the Godfather of US paparazzi culture" by Time magazine.

Certain of his pictures in this book – Mick Jagger's middle-finger salute from 1983; Sean Penn mid-punch; Marlon Brando on the occasion that he broke Galella's jaw – attest to his unpopularity with the celebrities whom he stalked. But if you can forgive his methods, there are some terrific shots here of old-fashioned Hollywood royalty and disco-era glamour, while an accompanying essay argues that his innate eye resulted in aesthetically superior images to the (often prearranged) pap shots that flood today's media.