Customer Reviews

Heartthrob: A Hundred Years of Beautiful Men

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The gorgeous Guy Madison on the cover was the sole reason for my purchase of this book on this website. Photos of this actor seem to be very rare, especially from here in Singapore and I'd been thinking about buying this book for the longest time, hoping to see more of Guy. The only thing that made me hesitate was that I had recalled flipping through it once before when I saw it in a bookshop in New York last year and decided against buying it, although I had forgotten exactly why.

When I received the book a few weeks ago after I'd ordered it, I remembered why I didn't buy it... This book, to me, is an inconsistent and insubstantial collection of photos of the men of Hollywood. Admittedly, there are some very interesting and rare photos and portraits, particularly from the 30's to the 70's, but that took up perhaps only 50 percent of the content. The other half was mostly filled with out-of-focus (Richard Chamberlain in mid-stride - I'm sure there are sexier pictures than this one), common (Leonardo DeCaprio in a tux at some awards dinner - how common is that), fanzine pictures that were sadly & disappointingly included. In his introduction, Donald Reuter mentioned that it was difficult to include too many pictures in this book because "... it would either be twice as big (and expensive), or the pictures would have to be the size of postage stamps..." But, looking at the (poor) layout, it seems that there could have been so many more photos that could have been added; for instance, only 2 pictures illustrated the "Golden Boy" section! It is also surprising that Donald Reuter, whose resume includes being creative director, illustrator and designer, can produce such an amateurishly designed book (for all who are short sighted, the captions are TINY-- probably 2 or 3 point text!!)

This book could have been a wonderful tribute to the men of Hollywood, but it is lacking in so many aspects... and there were only 2 pictures of Guy Madison - including the one on the cover!

I bought this book back in August and it is a treasure! I was not surprised to see ALMOST all of my favorite Hollywood movie stars in here (except Kevin Kline...come on, he's a heartthrob, especially when he takes off his shirt, exposing that beautiful chest). Cary Grant (the ideal), Liam Neeson, Kevin Costner and Harrison Ford (the hunks), Gary Cooper (the hero), Robert Mitchum (the he-man) and Ty Hardin (the stud; check out that absolutely SEXY photo of him with that barrell chest of his) are all in there and they are my favorites in Hollywood. There should have been about ten to fifteen more guys in there (like Mel Gibson, although he is mentioned but where's his picture?; also Billy Zane, Dennis Quaid, Nicholas Cage, and Bruce Willis). This is a great book for any woman who loves to look at a gorgeous guy with a muscular physique and a fearless image. Makes a great gift!

i thought the pictures of some of the most handsome cutie-pies of the entertainment world were wonderful. i even loved the large colored photo of guy madison in it! gosh, what a great looking man he was!! i wished i was a grown woman back then. i would have dated him in a heart beat! ha! ha! van johnson, robert walker, and woody harrelson pictures were a delight also. this book is a must have for any woman who loves looking at men a lot or "men watcher's". ha!

A picture book of 200-odd beautiful male celebrities, mostly movie stars, from the days of Valentino to the days of Leonardo DiCaprio. Most are "glamour" shots, face and torso, with only very occasionally a shirt unbuttoned or removed. Some curious omissions, and some extremely curious inclusions, but I guess beauty is a matter of personal taste.

However, the commentary is terrible. No discussion of the social and cultural trends that impacted concepts of male beauty, just insipid rantings and quotes with no citation. And Reuters is oddly homophobic. Over and over, he tells us about "armies of female fans (and I'm sure a few male)" and "eyes that made women (and a few men) melt." Why are the male fans dismissed over and over in tentative asides in a book marketed specifically to them? How about "armies of male and female fans" and "eyes that made men and women melt?"

It also seems very curious that the biography paragraphs (in such small print that you need a magnifying glass to read them) closet every gay star except Sal Mineo -- even Liberace is merely the subject of "rumors." Does Reuters believe that we won't buy the book if we discover that Liberace, Troy Donahue, Rock Hudson, Ramon Novarro, et al. were gay?

This book wasn't exactly what I was expecting. I purchased this book in hopes of finding a unique photo book displaying men being men to help with some photography ideas I'm working on. For that purpose alone, I'm slightly disappointed with this book. Most of the pictures in here are of an very older, almost vintage age, showing celebrities of earlier eras. Yes, there are a few modern celebrity shots in here, but very few. The pictures included aren't highly flattering either; in fact, I found myself asking why'd they choose this one. Those disappointing expectations aside, it was still a very interesting book that includes brief tidbits about each celebrity and so forth.

A wonderful and comprehensive collection of the 20th Century's most sexually appealing men. The author has grouped them into imaginative categories and the diversity of men is amazing! This is the definitive men's picture book and the author must have gone to great lengths to dig up some of these incredibly beautiful photos.

This was a very nice book, and absolutely worth having. I wish the writer included more text. This is particularly so regarding Guy Madison (the cover) whose face, I am sure, sold most of the books before they were even opened. The writer could have mentioned the official Guy Madison Web Site and the web sites for the other subjects in his beautiful book if he wanted to limit text to that extent. In any case, this book is a must for those who love movie culture.

This large-format hardback is a treasure-trove of male beauty,reaching back to a time decades before the media or the public were as celebrity-obsessed as they are now. Some things though have always been with us,thankfully, such as the admiration of a handsome face. There are the obvious hunks as well as some lovely surprises showing the beauty of men as diverse as Nick Adams, Wayne Gretzky, Guy Madison and Bob Conrad. Some of these guys were never household names,but their beauty is captured here.
A few highlights: the full page portrait of the magnificent Rock Hudson, a full page picture of the stunning Jon-Erik Hexum who could probably be the subject of his own book ,and a great photo of James Garner (I have never seen him looking this good).

On the plus side, this book has photos of all of the beautiful men in show business and even a few outside of show business. Thus, everyone will find some picture they love. Mine is a shot of Gregory Peck, which I had never seen before, in "To Kill A Mockingbird", in which he is absolutely beautiful. I've seen this movie several times and this shot is not in the movie. It must have been a still. On the negative side, however, unlike most photography books, there is nothing cohesive or uniting about this book other than a huge range of men who were or are heartthrobs. This is especially true since all different photographers took the pictures throughout much of the twentieth century. If you are looking for a specific heartthrob, the odds vary on how well you'll do because there is only one shot per person. I could have used fewer men with more portraits of those few but, of course, I'd want to pick who the fewer men were!

If you are a fan of man, this is an excellant purchase! Great pictures! Would make a excellant gift!