105 black-and-white and 61 four-color photographs

“What is the most precious part of your body?”

What started as an idle thought between celebrity photographer couple Melanie Dunea and Nigel Parry quickly developed into a serious metaphysical investigation using today’s most captivating personalities. The resulting photographs, accompanied by a quote from each celebrity explaining their choice of body part, reveals the subjects’ personalities through their choice, their own words, and Dunea and Parry’s eloquent images.

Precious features: Harrison Ford, Dustin Hoffman, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rosie O’Donnell, Johnny Depp, Joan Allen, Anthony LaPaglia, John Leguizamo, Mary-Louise Parker, Gloria Estefan, Juliette Lewis, Rachael Leigh Cook, Tommy Hilfiger, Bruce Willis, Eric McCormack, Ellen DeGeneres, Pierce Brosnan, Stanley Tucci, Meg Ryan, Chloë Sevigny, Jason Schwartzman, Tony Hawk, Kiefer Sutherland, Illeana Douglas, Alan Cumming, Mariska Hargitay, Mickey Rourke, Lukas Haas, Diane von Furstenberg, Gia Carides, Jeri Ryan, Jackie Mason, Alessandro Nivola, Miranda Otto, Lisa Marie, Erica Jong, Paloma Picasso, Mark Feuerstein, Audrey Quock, Laura Elena Harring, Ute Lemper, Twyla Tharp, Tony Bennett, Daniel Boulud, David Copperfield, Eve Ensler, Michael Panes, Kevin Venardos, Ed Koch, Kenny Chesney, Nathaniel Parker, Mario Batali, Poppy Montgomery, Edie Falco, Paul Theroux, Paul Giamatti, George Lois, Michael Gross, Roger Rosenblatt, Pauly Shore, Raoul Felder, Frederick Weller, Stephani Victor, Vinny Vella, Sr., Elijah Wood, Judith Regan, Richard Johnson.

Author royalties from Precious will be donated to the Starlight Children’s Foundation, an international nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for seriously ill children and their families.

Melanie Dunea and Nigel Parry’s work has appeared in publications worldwide such as W, Vanity Fair, The New York Times, GQ, Esquire, InStyle, Newsweek, Time, The Sunday Times of London, Entertainment Weekly, and Amica. They have both been honored with many awards and exhibitions. Nigel Parry’s first monograph, Sharp, was published by powerHouse Books in 2000.