Assouline presents the authoritative volume on the bikini with iconic images from its history, a study of its symbolism, and a look at the most defining fashions. A sexy alternative to the one-piece swimming costume, the bikini forever changed the way women relate to their bodies. "Smaller than the world's smallest bathing suit," as it was first described by its creator Frenchman Louis Reard, the bikini has become a symbol of female sensuality and liberation. Here is a four hundred page tribute to the Hollywood pin-ups of the 50s; Bond girls Ursula Andress and Halle Berry rising up from the sea; the beaches of Copacabana and Ipanema, birthplace of the tanga; Brigitte Bardot, topless and poolside in St. Tropez; the itsy bitsy teeny weeny styles of the 60s; beach bodies on spring break; the monokini, tankini, bandini, and v-kini; the strappy and the sporty; the sexy and the outrageous. But whether iconic or ordinary, scandalous or social, every image of the bikini in this luscious volume is about beauty.

Kelly Bensimon is an author, model, jewelry designer, and former editor of Elle Accessories. She began her modeling career in New York City. She has appeared in magazines such as ELLE, Cosmopolitan, and Harper's Bazaar. She has authored several books with Assouline including In The Spirit of the Hamptons, American Style, and The Bikini Book. Kelly also wrote a column in Page Six Magazine called The Socializer: Kelly Killoren-Bensimon.