Who becomes a legend most? For more than two years, a panel composed of such arbiters of culture as Leo Castelli, Rita Dove, Bruce Jenner, Joyce Carol Oates, Daniel Schorr, Gay Talese, Pierre Trudeau, and Eli Wallach pondered that question and came up with a list of the 200 most important icons of the 20th century. Their choices are compiled in this wonderfully designed book. Each icon merits a tall, vertically oriented, two-page spread. A full-page portrait is expertly reproduced on the right-hand side, and, given its length, a surprisingly informative biography takes up the facing page. Uncommon photos of the usual suspects are here--Marilyn Monroe, Martin Luther King Jr., James Joyce, Babe Ruth, Bette Davis, Jesse Owens, Marlon Brando, JFK, Anna Pavlova, even Michael Jordan. But some of the most pleasing inclusions are the surprises--the people who shaped the century but whose faces are less recognizable. This group includes philosophers Hannah Arendt and Carl Jung; South African doctor Christiann Barnard, who performed the first successful human heart transplant surgery; scientist Enrico Fermi, whose work led directly to the discovery of nuclear fission; Maria Montessori, who revolutionized early childhood education; legendary conductor Arturo Toscanini; and James Watson and Francis Crick, who discovered the shape of DNA. This is a well-timed book, for as the century draws to a close, one can hardly think of a better way to take stock of the dramatic events, advances, and--arguably--declines that have shaped the human experience over the past 100 years.