Customer Reviews

Naked Men, Too : Liberating the Male Nude 1950-2000

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4 star:		(2)
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David Leddick continues in this second volume of naked men what he began in NAKED MEN, PIONEERING MALE NUDES, 1935-1955, bringing us up to 2000, the year this volume was published. The genie is out of the bottle as famous and unknown men pose before many different photographers. In addition to George Platt Lynes, there are photographs here by George Dureau, Ken Duncan, Francesco Scavullo, Tom Bianchi, Robert Mapplethorpe, Greg Gorman, Harriet Liebowitz, Jim French, Pierre & Gilles, to name a few. Additionally there are drawings and/or paintings by Paul Cadmus, Michael Leonard, Don Bachardy and George Dureau. Among the famous and sometimes infamous men who bared all are Yves Saint Laurent, Rupert Everett, David Kopay, the exhibitionist Peter Berlin who apparently only photographs himself, Charlton Heston--hello!--Burt Lancaster from THE SWIMMER-- remember that 1968 movie made from a John Cheever short story?-- Peter Hinwood, whose name probably means nothing to you until you find out that he was the god Rocky Horror in ROCKY HORROR SHOW-- and Joe Dallesandro, one of Andy Warhol's superstars, who has not aged particularly well, photographed here by Scavullo. Finally we are graced by at least three porn stars: Ryan Idol; Cal Culver a/k/a Casey Donovan, who died of AIDS in 1987; and the notorious Jeff Stryker, (pp. 86-87) whose photo here is a hoot. He is demurely posed, stretched out on a flower-patterned couch with his back to the camera in the tradition of a 19th Century painting of a nude woman. (Seeing that hilarious photograph alone is worth the price of the book.)

Choosing favorite photographs is challenging. I particularly like Harriet Liebowitz's work (pp. 92-93) for her exquisite composition. Both photographs by Pierre & Gilles as always are creative and look like no other artist's work: Midnight Cowboy (pp. 98-99) and Casanova on pages 128-29. The photo of Larry Schleinz by Barry McKinley (p. 9) might have been the sexiest shot in the book had it had not been for the Romain Johnson photo by George Platt Lynes (pp. 24-25) done in 1953. It's easy to see why Leddick chose the photo of Anthony La Fauci by Dianora Niccolina (pp. 76-77) for the cover. Finally I nominate three contemporary photographs of men who have aged beautifully for the "Joy Of Aging" award: John Eddy (p. 82), Scott Wilson, (39) and Mike Helie on page 59.

Collecting these photographs and meeting the models must have been a labor of love. A great concept for a book, Mr. Leddick.

Following "Naked Men" with "Naked Men Too" adds to the resource literature on the development of gender perception during the past century. This is an informative book (yes, there is actually material to READ as well as to see) and to this reviewer the words are better than the varying degrees of quailty in the photography and art. This book may initally appeal to the voyeur but the accompanying text is concise and very helpful in exploring the ever present question of "why is frontal male nudity such a problem for contemporary viewers?". Recommended.

I really enjoyed David Leddick `s second book of "Naked Men." If you enjoyed his first Naked Men book, you will surely love this one. This new book covers the male nude from 1950 to 2000. This is a breathtaking volume of men from models and actors, to bodybuilders, dancers, and many others. The photographs are superb, showing how they looked years ago and today. It's not just all photos but also interesting essays broken down in chapters spanning 10 year periods from the days of male nude repression to today's general acceptance of male nudes.

If you're a collector of fine photography books, this is a must for your collection. Plus it's a wonderful history of the past 50 years of male nude photography.

this book provides an excellent history to the photography of nude men. Beautiful photographs and beautiful men. This collection has helped me out quite a few times.

I just received my copy of this book, and I am very moved. All my life I've enjoyed looking at pictures of naked men, but almost always with a tinge (at least) of guilt or shame. This book goes a very long way toward freeing me (at last!) of some of that shame. The first volume was fine, but the second is, for me, light years beyond it. These are the "porno" stars, the models, the MEN, that I grew up with, the men that I had crushes on, admired, "loved" in a distant way. And of course one always wonders what has happened to one's past loves. How thrilling and fulfilling in some strange and wonderful way to see, first, that many of them ARE still alive, and, second, to see how they look. And they look, to a man, strong and handsome and well. For every Casey Donovan who sank into a slough of drugs and sleaze (exactly what our internalized parents told us would happen to all such "perverts" and anyone who liked such pictures), there are a dozen or more who have not only survived, but have made interesting--and often startling--careers for themselves. And now I feel that I truly do love these men for having lived their lives, for having done what they've done. There's a lot of hogwash being circulated these days about liberation, but this book is truly liberating. I thank these men. I thank the makers of this book.

By the way, I think it's marvelous that Charlton Heston is included. I'm not surprised that he posed for the photo, only that he allowed it to be reprinted after having so carefully created a (phony) image for himself over so many years. Also, children read the book Ben-Hur, not Gore Vidal's movie script for it.

As good as its predecessor; highly recommended.

The photography in this book is top notch. I am especially fond of the man on the cover, Anthony LaFauci. He is the empitome of the ultimate male nude!!!

Masterpieces of male nude photography are gathered for a collection which outlines changing images of the nude male over the decades. Naked Men Too considers works from 1950-2000, providing a companion volume to an earlier coverage and bringing the nude male photo up to date. Chapters interview the men portrayed in the collection and provide insights on changing trends in male nude portrayal.

If it weren't for the photo of the demure, recument Chuckie Heston in "Naked Men Too" (I can't believe he actually posed for that picture), the book would already be on my shelf. However, I have chosen not to purchase it for that reason - so sorry. The rest of the book is quite good - giving interesting synopses of both photographer and subject(s).

It might be interesting to note (as stated in "The Celluloid Closet") that Gore Vidal's script of BEN HUR more than implied that Ben's boyhood friend Messala and he were more than just boyhood friends... and Heston didn't even know it. What do we tell the children!

i have never seen such an abstraction of male body curves in photography