Mr. Playboy

The real Hugh Hefner-the extraordinary inside story of an American icon ''Riveting... Watts packs in plenty of gasp-inducing passages.''-Newark Star Ledger ''Like it or not, Hugh Hefner has affected all of us, so I treasured learning about how and why in the sober biography.''-Chicago Sun Times ''This is a fun book. How could it not be? Watts aims to give a full account of the man, his magazine and their place in social history. Playboy is no longer the cultural force it used to be, but it made a stamp on society.''-Associated Press ''In Steven Watts' exhaustive, illuminating biography Mr. Playboy, Hefner's ideal for living -- marked by his allegiances to Tarzan, Freud, Pepsi-Cola and jazz -- proves to be a kind of gloss on the Protestant work ethic.''-Los Angeles TimesGorgeous young women in revealing poses; extravagant mansion parties packed with celebrities; a hot-tub grotto, elegant smoking jackets, and round rotating beds; the hedonistic pursuit of uninhibited sex. Put these