Shirtless!: A Hollywood Male Physique

Outstanding look back at actors of yesteryear. Ever find yourself wondering if a particular actor had hair on his chest or arms? Wonder no more. Have fun gazing at these high quality photographs and saying to yourself - oh, I know who that is ...it's.... A true treat for the eye as well as the curiousity. Enjoyable book and a must have for the Hollywood beefcake buff. Now I want this publisher to produce "Shirtless in Swimwear" so we are able to see chests,arms and legs!!!

Commentary from Victor Terry of "Checkmatemag.com": Non-fiction. Illustrated. Index. Pictures of shirtless actors decade by decade from George O'Brien and Rudolph Valentino (the 20s) to Brendan Fraser and Brad Pitt (the 90s). Most of those pictured are noted for their film work, but some, like David Chokachi, Erik Estrada, Mark Harmon, and Michael Landon, are primarily known for their tv work. This parade of pecs shows how male physical development has changed over the years in Hollywood and thus in the country, from natural to gymbunny pumperup, with stops along the way for boys next door, frat boys, beachboys, twinkies, natural physiques, musclemen and bodybuilders, James Bonds, Tarzans; among those shown shirtless are John Barrymore, Harry Belafonte, Troy Donahue, Jamie Foxx, Cary Grant, Jude Law, Bruce Lee, Jason Scott Lee, Ricardo Montalban, Ronald Reagen, Sabu, Antonio Sabata Jr, Clint Walker more than 160 men, plus some unidentified men (one of whom is Ray Walston). Many of the men are hairy torso'd, but some have shaven torsos. (The hairiest chests shown? Probably Alec Baldwin, Sam Elliott, and Chuck Norris.) Reuter includes no genital nudity but he does include Leonard Whiting's bare butt.

Whether you're male or female, gay or straight, everyone will find something they like about this book. Donald F. Reuter, whom I still have not seen a picture of, has done some great work in preserving the Hollywood idols of past and present in his previous works "Heartthrob: A Hundred Years of Beautiful Men" and "Heavenly: A Hundred Years of Unforgettable Women". "Shirtless: The Hollywood Male Physique" is his third opus in this series of celebrity worship and captures the deft essence of the muscle-bound male torso that has sent the public into a manic frenzy of passion and adoration for the past 70-80 years. The real stand-outs are smooth hotties Paul Newman (pg. 155), Ryan O'Neal (pg. 11), Robert Mitchum (pg. 34), Clark Gable (inset, pg. 26) and Brendan Frasier (pg. 145), the in-bewteens Robert Conrad (pg. 84-5), Marlon Brando (pg. 42-3) and Hugh O'Brian (pg. 64-5) to the downright hairy hunks Burt Reynolds (pg. 104-5), Sean Connery (pg. 90-91; pg. 149), Clint Walker (pg. 86-7), Tom Selleck (pg. 127), and William Holden (pg. 44-5). There are, unfortuantely, several undeserving ommissions from this book as well: Patrick Duffy, Keanu Reeves, Liam Neeson, Hugh Jackman, Lucky Vanous (the famous bare-chested Diet Coke model), Patrick Stewart, Bruce Willis, Denzel Washington, Maxwell Caulfield, Viggo Mortensen, Sam Behrens (tv's SUNSET BEACH), Tom Cruise and most unforgivable of all... Robert Redford!!![...] Who would put together a book that celebrates the Hollywood Hunk in all his bare-chested glory and then leave out possibly the one sex symbol this side of Gable who's been sending gals swooning by the dozen for the past thirty-plus years? There could also have been better shots taken of some who did make it into SHIRTLESS (most notably: #1-Tom Selleck, #2-Alec Baldwin #3-William Holden and #4-Charlton Heston). Those who bought the book want to see hard pecs, cast-iron abs and bulging biceps, not just broad shoulders.I guess there's no such thing as a perfect anything beit book, film, etc. But on the upside this publication still offers up plenty of sexy, satisfying and all-around turn-you-on pics of those eye-pleasing, heart-pulsing muscle-bound studs we call the Hollywood Heartthrobs.

I think there are enough men here to last a lifetime for everyone. If you like to see your men shirtless this is the book for you. Over 175 celebrity stars, actors, hunks, whatever you want to call them are here for your enjoyment. It's great that someone has finally brought together all the photos of these shirtless stars of past and present fame in one book. I rather enjoyed the comments made by author Donald Reuter throughout the book describing the photographs which helped to give the book a gay sensibility. As an added bonus it can serve as a reference book because all the stars dates of birth are given and regretfully the dates of those that have passed on. From the very attractive cover design to the unique size of the book, this is one book that should be in your collection. A few stars were missing, but all in all a good representation. Highly recommended!

You can tell from the cover photo of 50s beach icon Tab Hunter, still beautiful after all these years, that this book is something special. When you open to the frontispiece of sweetly innocent Sal Mineo, then turn to the double-page title spread picturing heart-stopping Johnathan Schaech suggestively straddling a Harley, you know you're in for quite a treat. Donald F. Reuter, author of Heartthrob: A Hundred Years of Beautiful Men, has done it again. He has, in fact, outdone himself.There is something almost fetishist in our attraction to celebrities and our fascination with their beauty. Hollywood knows this and caters to it at every available opportunity. What better and more direct way to our wallets is there than through our collective libido? For proof of this, we need look no further than the past few seasons' crops of teen-dream flicks, all attempting to capitalize on our lust. From "Titanic" to "I Know What You Did Last Summer" to "Here On Earth" to "Dude, Where's My Car?" we are inundated with images of the faces and bodies of beautiful men-all to get us to plant our butts in theater seats and separate us from eight bucks. And it works...sometimes with huge success, others less so.For the purposes of this volume, Reuter divides our celebrity history into decades, the Thirties through the Nineties, prefaced by a section on silent film stars. These photos of pre-Hayes Code film actors showing off their best assets are especially noteworthy. Bevies of beautiful men from each decade are featured in all their bare-chested glory. In the accompanying enjoyable and often catty commentary, Reuter examines the appeal of each celebrity hunk and analyzes changes in society and in our attitudes toward objectification and worship of the male body. Over the course of 150+ pages, over 160 film and television icons are presented for our enjoyment and edification. The photos are glorious and often rare, some from the author's personal collection. There is truly something for everyone.Although Shirtless! is ambitious in scope and completely successful in its achievement, no book of finite size can be infinite in scope, and everyone is bound to have a favorite celebrity who escaped inclusion. Where are Keanu Reeves, Scott Wolf, Simon Rex? Don't let the impossibility of including every movie and television star who ever took off his shirt deter you from adding this book to your personal library. After all, there are always Scott Baio, Jimmy McNichol, and Matt Dillon!