Inside the Playboy Mansion: If You Don't Swing, Don't Ring [Hardcover]

Gretchen Edgren (Author), Hugh M. Hefner (Introduction)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: General Pub Group; First Edition ~1st Printing edition (December 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 157544044X
• ISBN-13: 978-1575440446
• Product Dimensions: 12.5 x 9.5 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #874,968 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Look Into the Glory Years of The Playboy Mansion, January 5, 2007

By 

Gary Stahl "GRJazzman" (Berkeley Heights, NJ United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Inside the Playboy Mansion: If You Don't Swing, Don't Ring (Hardcover)

Much like the TV show "Playboy After Dark" this book gives one a real look into the glory days of the Playboy Lifestyle and specifically the Playboy Mansion. Although more of a coffee table book, the pictures and even the plans to the "original" bachelor pad that Hefner planned to build, are also included. The pictures and the memories included in this book are facinating.

24 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An execellent journey of the famed Playboy Mansion, August 20, 2000

By 

historyone (Republic of Texas, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Inside the Playboy Mansion: If You Don't Swing, Don't Ring (Hardcover)

This is such an interesting book both in photographs and the stories behind each of the Chicago and "Hollywood" mansions that Hef has lived in. From the early 1960's where the food and the women were abundant listening to the Beatles, The Rolling Stones and even Frank Sinatra, the Chicago Playboy Mansion was definitely the social scene of the early-mid 1960's and 1970's. Even the Playboy Bunny's had special rooms upstairs in the mansion where they paid rent to live (although very inexpensive rent due to the genorosity of Hef). Now the Playboy Mansion West is the social scene in the 1990's. The heyday's of the 1960's 1970's and 1990's (the 1980s were a down period for the mansion, also Hef was married to Kimberly Conrad so the 1980's were a quiet time at the Mansion) are shown in excellent photographic detail, and yes Hef rightly so, is the spotlight and focus of this book since he is the creator not only of Playboy Magazine but also the Playboy lifestyle.

From Chicago Hef moved to California and started the Playboy Mansion West (still the place to go for Hollywood's elite) and every Playboy fans fantasy is to visit the mansion and meet Hef himself. From the Grotto to the movie room each room gives a glimpse of what a tour would be like and what it would also be like to live there. The party's, the movie nights, and even the petting zoo are shown. This book is a result of many fans of Hef and Playboy asking him what his everyday life is like behind the scene's at the mansion.

I congratulate Hugh M. Hefner for starting the vision of Playboy, which not only showcases beautiful women from around the world, but also gives them the opportunity to take that experience and make it an opportunity. Alot of feminists and people may not agree with Hef's philosophy and lifestyle, but that is what makes Playboy great. The Playboy forum and letter's to the editor gives people and readers of Playboy Magazine a chance to voice their opinion if to agree or disagree, Hef believes in the right for people to make their own choice and express it. That is one of the purposes of Playboy, the freedom to express yourself, as long as it does not hurt or damage others.

Thank you Hef for allowing your fans to appreciate the scenes of the Playboy Mansion and what has happened there over the years, (what I wouldnt give to go to a Midsummer's Night Dream Party or to Hefs movie nights!) This is a great book to all fans of Playboy and the immortal Hugh M. Hefner.

35 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars How Much "Hef" Can You Take?, February 3, 1999

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Inside the Playboy Mansion: If You Don't Swing, Don't Ring (Hardcover)

This big, candy-colored book suffers from so much merciless knee-bending to the great lord of the manor--Hef, Hef, Hef--as if he were some sort of god. (And you just thought he published dirty books.) Indeed, you begin to think the main activity at the mansions must have been butt-kissing. This book was penned by longtime Playboy staffer Gretchen Edgren, with Playboy's full cooperation, so don't expect any details on the very real toll this silly, hedonistic life ultimately had on some of the participants. What's most amusing is that Hugh Hefner seems the anomaly in his own surroundings, a small, unglamorous, goofy looking guy surrounded by A-list celebrities and tantalizing vixens. He seems plucked out of a James Thurber short story, a Walter Mitty, transported from his accounting cubicle to a life of carnal overkill. One outtake photo included actually shows Hefner's large , exposed behind in the famed grotto. Also, interestingly, is a very unflattering photo of Kimberley Hefner, the Playmate For A Lifetime, who is now estranged from her husband. A most rosy postcard from Chicago and Holmby Hills.