Reviews for The Playboy Book: The Complete Pictorial History

The average rating for The Playboy Book: The Complete Pictorial History based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2020-06-14 00:00:00 Peter Czebe This (now dated) coffee table book celebrating what was the 40th anniversary of the iconic men's magazine is at heart not much more than a glossy ad for 'Playboy'. Published back in 1994, the overarching theme of the book is one that is a bit too self-satisfied, and more than a little out of touch with contemporary attitudes about sex and feminism. However there are aspects of the book that provide a basis for my recommendation. First off, whether one agrees or disagrees with the politics and commercialism of 'Playboy' in its heyday, it was a major pop culture force in America, and whilst the text in this book is limited the combination of images, artwork and notes herein give a decent impression of the magazine's influence. The array of excerpted articles, interviews, drawings, photographs and of course nude pictures is an effective summary of what 'Playboy' did so well for its first 40 years. This book also provides the contemporary reader with some insight into the social history of the period that it covers, and also offers up an interesting document that illustrates the power of the idealised version of American masculinity that 'Playboy' founder Hugh Hefner created. The urbane, intelligent, relatively wealthy, confident and of course heterosexual construct of manhood that 'Playboy' extolled is almost as detached from reality as the nude women who are shown bare breasted or sans panties are. I would expect this book would not find much of an audience today, and would possibly only be available in second hand bookshops or among the collections of those who hold some (possibly nostalgic) attachment to the 'Playboy' of old. It might not mirror the old excuse one gave for reading the magazine ("I buy it for the articles."), but it does reflect a great deal of what 'Playboy' was and how those who loved it saw it.

Review # 2 was written on 2014-03-27 00:00:00 Matthew Duncan Good articles. LOL