Observations is a collaborative coffee table book with photography by Richard Avedon, commentary by Truman Capote and design by Alexey Brodovitch.

Simon & Schuster published the work in 1959 having it printed using the photogravure method in Lucerne, Switzerland.

Observations contains numerous portraits of famous people of the twentieth century, including Pablo Picasso, J. Robert Oppenheimer, Katharine Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe and Mae West.

Isak Dinesen was initially insulted by Capote's description of her, but forgave him shortly before her death in 1962.

[2] The book is a sought-after collectors item and typically sells for hundreds of dollars, even when not in ideal condition.