The Playboy Book: Fifty Years - Tapa dura

Fine gentlemen's entertainment since 1953 Relive Playboy's fifty-year history with this sweeping retrospective of the groundbreaking magazine that grew from Hugh Hefner's pet project into an icon as recognizable as Disney and Coca-Cola. Visit Hef's Playboy Mansion, canoodle with his delectable Bunnies, tour the DC-9 Big Bunny jet, experience the sizzling atmosphere of the Playboy Clubs, read the best Playboy interviews, original fiction, and humor, cackle at the irreverent cartoons and social satire pieces, and - of course - admire each Playmate of the Month since the first issue (all six hundred of them!) All of the magazine's most glorious moments are highlighted in this extravaganza of Playboy nostalgia. With an introduction by Hugh Hefner

Hugh Marston Hefner was born in Chicago on April 9, 1926. The first issue of Playboy magazine, featuring the now-famous calendar photo of Marilyn Monroe, was produced in 1953 on a kitchen table in his South Side apartment. Playboy grew at a phenomenal rate and by the end of the decade, the magazine was selling more than a million copies a month. At the start of the 60s, Hef began to live out the "Good Life" depicted in the pages of his publication. He hosted a popular syndicated television show called "Playboy's Penthouse," purchased the Playboy Mansion, and opened the first Playboy Club on the Near North Side of Chicago. Throughout the 60s, Hef and Playboy became what Chicago columnist Bob Greene has called "a force of nature." Hef wrote an extended series of editorials titled "The Playboy Philosophy," championing the rights of the individual and challenging the country's heritage of puritan repression. By 1971, when Playboy Enterprises went public, the magazine was selling 7 million copies a month and there were 23 Playboy Clubs, resorts, hotels and casinos with more than 900,000 members worldwide. Hef established a second residence in Los Angeles, which quickly became known as Playboy Mansion West, and in 1975 decided to settle there permanently. In 1980, Hef championed the reconstruction of the Hollywood sign (then in serious disrepair) and was honored with a star on the Hollywood walk of fame for his efforts.