Book excerpt: "'I only read it for the articles.' Few modern punch lines are as iconic as this one. It's so widely recognized, the joke itself has become superfluous. Humor aside, the true allure of PLAYBOY are the magazine's underrated photos, specifically the spectacular cover images. Now Hugh Hefner has chosen hundreds of PLAYBOY's breathtaking, innovative covers for this lush retrospective. Images of the stunning women who enticed millions from the fifties through the new millennium are digitally reproduced in full-color. Acclaimed author and long-time PLAYBOY writer Damon Brown explores how the magazine's newsstand decisions indelibly impacted American culture, while ultimate Playmate Pamela Anderson provides an illuminating foreword. While these photos have sometimes been underrated, Playboy's Greatest Covers reveals that the pictures actually tell a fascinating story. Our story. "--