Playboy

I saw this book pictured in a blog and the cover was so appealing, I just had to have it. The stories, however, are a mixed bag. A handful are quite good, a few middling, and a few sort of inexplicable. It is interesting that most of them share a common tone, not surprising since they were all published in the same place and many of them I'm sure were selected by the same editor. My individual reviews follow.

Weird Show by Herbert Gold *** - Story of a traveling magician/apeman, his show more assistant/mistress, and the boy who throws macaroni from the balcony--fun, but not surprising.

A Recluse and His Guest by Tennessee Williams **** - Atmospheric, mysterious, and sad tale of a traveling woman and a recluse who gives her shelter; this one is about human nature and is strangely disturbing.

I Do Not Like Thee, Dr. Feldman by Henry Slesar *** - Slesar always spins a good tale, and this one about a doctor feeling threatened by another guest at a resort is strange indeed.

Accidents of a Country Road by Roger Dionne *** - I'm not quite sure what to make of this one, but it draws you in and leaves you with an uneasy feeling when you're done.

By Appointment Only by Richard Matheson **** - Be careful what barber shop you patronize. As always, Matheson is a master.

A Day in the Life Of by Frank M. Robinson ***1/2 - Nice time capsule of 1960s or early 1970s hipsterdom, and its downside.

Softly Walks the Beetle by John Collier **1/2 - Any Collier story is worth reading; however, this one, despite creating a nice atmosphere, doesn't offer anything original.

The Convert by Ken Purdy * - Too trivial to deserve more than one star

Double Exposure by John Reese *1/2 - A nice story up to the ending, which is just something no author should be able to get away with. No subtlety at all. Why was this even published?

The Machine in Ward Eleven by Charles Willeford ***1/2 - Like most of Willeford's work, it takes a cockeyed approach to everything, and it is just as enjoyable.

The Academy by David Ely ***1/2 - A father considers whether a military school is right for his troublesome son; very well done, if not earthshaking.

The Party by William F. Nolan **** - Like every bad party you wish you had attended. Nolan can write.

Nasty by Fredric Brown **1/2 - I think I saw the end of this one coming. Suitable for Playboy, certainly, but not one of Brown's better stories.

I'm Yours by Charles Schafhauser ***1/2 - Original, and truly horrifying

The Taste of Fear by Hugh G. Foster ** - This starts off as an interesting tale of an alternate Hollywood, but whatever effect the author is trying to achieve--well, let's just say he falls far short. Is the ending really supposed to be a shock?

Xong of Xuwan by Ray Russell ****1/2 - The best story in the book, and that's not unexpected when the author is Russell. This is a curious tale of a girl all alone in the world with a typewriter whose 's' doesn't work. Very affecting. show less

Note: although it doesn't explicitly say that it is, this seems to be largely a revised and expanded edition of the earlier Playboy's Book of Limericks. There are around 650 limericks in that old book, and around 675 in this one. Of those, about 45 from the old book have been removed, and about 70 new ones added. The rest are the same - with some rewrites here and there. It's interesting to guess at the reasons for the deletions - certainly changes in cultural/societal norms account for show more some, and I think a few of the others got dropped because the rhyming was a bit crap.

An example of one of the rewrites may throw light on changes in gender politics (or at least the editors of Playboy's approach thereto) between 1972 and 2005:

FROM THE OLDER BOOK:
Despite Betty Friedan's fierce cry,
There are some rights we men must deny.
I think you'll allow, sirs,
That feminine trousers
Need not be equipped with a fly.

FROM THIS NEWER EDITION:
Said Betty Friedan with a cry,
"There are rights we won't be denied.
I think you'll allow, sirs,
That feminine trousers
Should all come equipped with a fly."

(Just a shame that the scansion and rhyme have suffered a bit in the update.) show less

I came across this in a flea market, and what a hell of a find! And it was only one dollar! Crazy! But there's some pretty great jokes in here, and there are also illustrations of varying quality (some are more sketchy/done by what looks to be pen or marker, while others were done in good quality with a full range of shades, etc. It seems like these particular illustrations were originally done in color, but unfortunately were changed to black and white (and gray) for this book.

The jokes are show more pretty fun as well, even if at this date (2019) some of them are pretty dated as it's been almost 60 years since the publication of this book.

My two favorite jokes from this book - I might be off a few words, but these jokes verbatim as far as I remember them.

-This one obviously shows its age, but I still find it funny.
From 13 to 18, a girl is like Africa - virginal and unexplored
From 15 to 30, a woman is like the Orient - hot and exotic
From 30 to 45, a woman is like America - knowledgeable and free with her resources.
From 45 to 60, a woman is like Europe - getting on in years but not without points of interest.
60 and above - a woman is like Australia - everyone knows it's down there but nobody cares.

-A woman is having difficulties relaxing and enjoying herself with intimacy, so she goes to a doctor. She tells the doctor about her issues, so he tells her to slowly spell out 'bedroom'. She does so.
"B"
"E"
"D"
"R"
"Oh..."
"OHHHHHHH!!!!"
"Mmmm..." show less

This is one heck of book for anyone that loves the art form of the interview and I do highly recommend it. 50 interviews, 1400 plus pages, as someone that is lucky to get 15 minutes a day to read, it is quite a commitment but well worth it.
One of the things that makes it so interesting is that you have history on your side to think about what the subjects are saying and to contemplate how their lives have unfolded compared to their thoughts at that moment in time.
It is especially fun when show more you catch a subject being a hypocrite in view of how they have since lived their life or to read them say things that you know now they would probably be embarrassed about.
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