Customer Reviews

Playboy: The Complete Centerfolds

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I think I'll leave it to others to write reviews about the deep philosophical significance of the Playboy centerfolds and contemporary American society. My capsule review is: here's a very heavy book with hundreds of photos of gorgeous females.

The following are a few random thoughts on this amazing book.
* The total weight of this (reassuringly?) expensive package is thirty pounds, the combination lock case weighs five pounds. You can check out the dimensions in the Product Details section.
* Production values are suitably sumptuous with photos printed in 200dpi screen on good paper and an obviously robust black binding holds it all together. The carrying case acts in lieu of a book jacket I guess.
* The centerfolds in the book are the same size as those in the perfect bound magazine. For many years Playboy was stapled and the centerfolds were a bit deeper by about three-quarters of an inch.
* There seems to be some confusion about how many Playmates and centerfolds are included in the unnumbered pages, 640 are in the index, from Rhonda Adams (June 1995) to Pamela Zinser (March 1974) but Janet Pilgrim made it three times. Marilyn Waltz and Marguerite Empey both appeared twice. Some centers featured two Playmates: the Collinson twins (October 1970) Carol and Darlene Beraola (January 2000) Deisy and Sarah Teles (December 2003) and the Dahm's (Erica, Nicole and Jacclyn) all appeared in December 1998. Playboy started in December 1953 (but no issue for March 1955) and the last photo in the book is December 2006. You can relax though because I've counted the pages (it took some time) and there are 638 centerfolds. October 1958 included two centers (Mara Corday and Pat Sheehan) as did January 1974 but here it was the front and back of the delightful Nancy Cameron.
* Five lucky photographers seem to have spent their lives telling Playmates to "Look straight at the camera, imagine it's your lover!", Mario Casilli, Richard Fegley, Arny Freytag, Pompeo Posar and Stephen Wayda have, between them, taken over 350 centers. The index lists sixty-nine photographers.
* Sure it's an indulgence but if you have to justify the purchase to anyone just say as well as being a huge coffee table book it IS a coffee table. Put a pile of your back issues at either end and voila!
* One problem remains though just where am I going to keep such a huge book?

This is a piece of history. I was around when the first playboy was issued. So that means a long time.This comes in a black briefcase with combination locks and a raised playboy bunny. Just the case alone is stunning.The book inside contains all the centerfolds unfolded in real size.The cover and binding are first rate. The pages inside are printed on top notch paper. This is well worth the money. This book and case weigh 37.5 pounds. Once you see it you will realize you have a true collectors item if that is what you are into. I debated on whether I should spend the money on it and took a chance, because I have three other playboy books,now I am glad I did, because you will not see any other kind of book bound like this and in a case like this, let alone for the money. It is unique among any type of book.

It is not something you buy just for the pictures, you could have saved all the single issues and have them all, but of course they would be folded and in this book they are not. It is something that you buy for the volume, binding and case itself. A piece of history, that usually would never be produced in any other book. Think of it a large page from every issue of this magazine. I doubt that any other magazine of any kind will ever do what Playboy has done. This is a show stopper as a book.

I stopped reading Playboy because I considered the girls to be too one dimensional and the pictures to be to contrived. They don't seem real. I like my women to look like women, not fake breasts, shaved pubic hair and airbrushed plastic dolls. But I did buy this book because of the quality, besides a lot of the centerfolds in the earlier issues looked more like real women before Hef got old and silly.

I frequently ask this question: Who had the most fun in the twentieth century? The answer I've maintained for some time is: Mick Jagger. (Keith would be second, but I disqualify him because I don't think he remembers much.) Hugh Hefner would be the next in line. What a career. What a legacy. Some people might maintain that his legacy is vacuous and that his career is insipid. I disagree, and immediately sense either jealousy or ignorance. Hefner has done wonderful things for women (as well as us men, obviously), women's rights, and countless other charities and causes, First Amedment and beyond. His decades of frolicking with babes only a fraction of his age is a well-deserved reward for his numerous efforts on various fronts, and thereby advancing the notions of freedom and enlightenment. Hefner is straight out of an Ayn Rand novel, a bold visionary who believes life is to be lived for ample doses of work and pleasure, and whose self-indulgence has as a byproduct vast benefit for his fellow man. (True, I do think his epic life-story would have a fabulous ending if he now married a woman close to his age, and made a proclamation of some sort advancing romantic ideals, to work in conjunction with his previous accomplishments relating to sexual idealism.)

I mention the man who is the publisher of this book because I thought of him and his decades of accomplishment as I flipped through each and every page of this vast tome. Imagine, the first picture is of no one other than Marilyn Monroe! But my personal favorite was about a year later: Bettie Page! I was also struck by the photo of Dorothy Stratten. There are lots of stories here, lots of history. Indeed, most of the shots are very appealing, and actually much sexier than I had remembered. (True, the recent shots of girls who have shaved themselves are, in my opinion, grotesque.) Although my favorites are somewhere between 1965 and 1978, each decade has its appeal. These pictures really jump out at you, the printing quality is first-rate, and the vast volume of beautiful female imagery is probably unmatched by any other book anywhere. It took me almost two hours to flip through these pages.

The briefcase: I was curious if it was real "leather." No, it is not. Is it kind of cheesey? Yes, very. The dilemma posed by the briefcase is that you have to find a place to stash the darned thing. You can't really place it on a bookshelf. Really, I wish they had built a slip-case for the book instead of this vinyl, goofy briefcase. However, the briefcase is kind of useful because the book is so heavy that it otherwise would be cumbersome to move about. But the thin vinyl reminds me of an old cassette tape case, and I suspect that before long the vinyl will crack or get holes punctured in it. The book itself, however, in contrast, is very solid with a nice cloth binding. I do wish it had a nice ribbon book mark, because there was one babe in particular in 1978 who really deserved a rigorous marking! (I guess I'll just have to flip through this thing again soon and re-locate her.)

All told, this book is perhaps the best single summary of an incredible publishing legacy. Thank you, Mr. Hefner, for all you've done to enrich our lives the last sixty years. While many of us primarily read Playboy during our "fraternity years," the lessons taught in this magazine about living the good life, and being a gentleman, have endured long after that.

This is a wonderful book and a steal at the Amazon price. It has been as low as $150 but now seems to be climbing again. Don't be fooled and wait for the new edition coming out in October for $50 ($31.50 at Amazon). The new edition features approx. half-size reproductions of 12"x6" as opposed to the FULL-SIZE reproductions of the original gatefolds from the magazine (approx. 22"x11") in this pricier first edition. As a subscriber since the late 60s, this is a great trip down memory lane as well as a wonderful nostalgic look at the playmates that were before my time. It's a revelation to see those Playmates as they appeared for the first time full-size. And what a treat to have the ones I was familiar with and pasted on dorm room and bachelor apartment walls now preserved fold and staple free in a durable hardback format.

A lot of people have written about the quality and weight of this book. I must agree on both counts! I rarely write a review on a non-electronic device or DVD that I have purchased from Amazon, but I felt I needed to give my opinion on a few factors concerning this offering from Playboy. First, the book IS very large and heavy. That makes it perfect. The size of the pages match the original centerfold -- perfect. The quality of the reprints are -- perfect. I never thought I would see a complete centerfold collection of my favorite Playboy models. In my opinion, the models of the 70's - 80's and early 90's are drop dead gorgeous. If you were really lucky, they could be your neighbor, your best friend's sister, or your first high school / college love. They are "natural", "pretty" and "well groomed". I personally can't stand the "surgically enhanced", "tatooed", "jewelry embedded", "bald" models of today. Call me old-fashioned -- I can live with that. Thank you Playboy for bringing back some great memories!

Very seldom are we able to enjoy the female form in all it's glory to this magnitude. What a glorious way to observe how our culture and attitude towards what is erotic has changed over the past 50 plus years. I have to say I found the women of the 70s and 80s before silicone implants and starving themselves became fashionable to be the most beautiful. This book is an absolute steal at the price Amazon sells it for. I decided to pass on the smaller version after reading several reviews and step up to the real deal. You will not be disappointed if you do as well.

This is a must have book celebrating the iconic playboy bunny. The girls are gorgeous and the quality of the book itself is superb. This is a first class production that is well worth the money.

This item is spectacular in every way. This book comes in a leather case that, by itself is truly amazing. As expensive as this item is, it is really worth every penny.

DOWNSIDE
This item is huge and weighs almost 40 pounds so Amazon charges like $12 in shipping costs. Thankfully, I was able to purchase this from a 3rd party seller on Amazon and saved quite a bit of money when I added up the item cost and shipping (the 3rd party seller only wanted $3.99 for shipping)!! It came real fast in perfect condition. I am thrilled with this purchase.

Pros: Girlfriend likes it too.
Cons: None!
Other Thoughts: The quality of this book is off the charts! In particular i liked the small attention to detail on how to pull the book out of it's briefcase -a practical/stylish strap sits in the case to lay the book on and pull it out with later. You can't wrong with this purchase @ it's current price. I'd even say it's a MUST for any Pb fan... no, not lead :)

Awesome price from Amazon. Always the best deals and an excellent product that is worth the price. Beautiful photography and very sexy ladies. AA++