Magritte by Richard Calvocoressi
Phaidon Colour Library’s Magritte does a good job of discussing the various influences on his style and showing works that illustrate those influences. Magritte seems to have been easily influenced. He frequently used images and ideas from other artists or other media. However, he put his own twisted slant on them, creating unexpected images that can be disturbing. His most original works are also frequently the most disturbing.
The photos are mostly in chronological order but sometimes aren’t, in order to contrast two works against each other. The text doesn’t say much about his personal life but perhaps his personal life wasn’t very interesting.