Marilyn Monroe has been dead about 42 years, so give yourself a gold star if you already know that this autobiography is not exactly new. In fact, this is its third printing. The first was in 1974, then another in 2000. So, why do it again? Well, besides the fact that the others are out of print, this is the first time that the words of Marilyn Monroe have been put together with some of the greatest pictures taken of her, namely those by photographer and Monroe business partner Milton H. Greene.

Greene was more than a photographer. The two became close friends, with Monroe actually living with Greene's family for four years. And the friendship culminated in a partnership in Marilyn Monroe Productions, which produced the movies Bus Stop and The Prince and the Showgirl. So Greene had extensive access to Monroe for a good number of her most famous years, and he took some of the most well-known photos of her between 1953 and 1957.

This "Illustrated Edition" of My Story includes 46 of these photos, including shots from what Monroe fans might know as the "Black" series and the "Ballerina" series. The pictures look great, which is probably testament to the work of Joshua Greene, Milton's son, who for the last decade or so has been digitally restoring many that were thought to be unsalvageable. Joshua Greene also provides the foreword to the book, where he helpfully identifies where and when most of the photos were taken.

The photos are the star here, but I suppose the story itself should be mentioned. My Story is published with Marilyn Monroe as the author but also with the words "with Ben Hecht" added on. Hecht was a screenwriter who collaborated with Monroe on the book, and some Monroe biographers believe he (and/or others) took the liberty of embellishing both the facts and Monroe's version of them. (In one instance, Monroe says she is the kind of girl they find dead in a hallway with an empty bottle of pills. Were those really her words, or added later?) Nevertheless, the project had Monroe's approval, and it undoubtedly captures a good deal of her life story.