Which one would you be, “man” or “non-man”? First-hand reports and essays on a hidden aspect of Moslem culture. “Portrays very clearly the relationship between same-sex eroticism and the ideal of the man as penetrator… .” Illuminates “not only male homosexuality but the whole sexual culture and the role of gender in the Moslem world, including such countries as Morocco, Syria, Iran, Turkey and Israel,“ where the Western concept of a “gay person,” one who both gives and receives male affection, is still relatively unknown. GR

Publisher: Haworth
Paperback: 201 pages

This study of cultural issues surrounding the development of tranquilizers since the 1950s is unusual in that it was written by a pharmaceutical “insider,” and with a tone of political cautiousness. While it is interesting to read a book on this subject without an obvious feminist or anti-psychiatry point of view, the downside is that the author seems so careful not to weigh in on the pro or con side of the tranquilizer question that he often presents a litany of conflicting papers written by others (whose credibility and viewpoint is not available to the typical reader) and seemingly presents as little of his own editorial, synthesizing voice as possible. (The style of this book may be due to its presumed academic or professional audience.)
That being said, this wide-ranging book presents a wealth of data. Subjects covered are: the typical cycle of professional and public reactions to new “miracle drugs”; the problem of defining and diagnosing anxiety; a chronology of the development of psychopharmacology through the 1970s; prescribing and utilization patterns; history of mass media coverage of tranquilizers; the information flow to doctors, including the professional press and pharmaceutical advertising; social issues such as the medicalization of human problems and the imbalance of tranquilizer use between men and women; doctors' prescribing dilemmas; and a particularly interesting chapter on the history of regulatory efforts by the FDA and other agencies with transcript extracts from the famous Kefauver hearings and other proceedings. Note: Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors are not discussed in this book, which came out three years before Prozac. MH

Publisher: Haworth
Paperback: 266 pages
Illustrated

Happily, the fancy initials after the authors’ names didn’t preclude them from writing a fun book. There is an introduction in which they show off their initials, attempting to answer the question: “What is a fad?” From there on, however, it’s a jolly fun read. Given a time frame as broad as American history, choices had to be made as to what to include, making for an eclectic mix. Herewith are those entries in this volume which occur under the letters A through E to give the prospective reader a taste of this rather fanciful mix:
Adult westerns, Horatio Alger Jr., American Gothic, answer songs, Aromarama, Ayatollah songs, barbershop quartet, Barnum, Batman, Beatlemania, Milton Berle, Betty Boop, Big Little Books, James Bond, boogie-woogie, British Invasion, Busby Berkeley, cakewalk, Calypso, car songs, Casey at bat, David Cassidy, Vernon and Irene Castle, Charlie Chaplin, the Charleston, the Chipmunks, “Buffalo Bill” Cody, Columbia comedy shorts, commercial folk music, Davy Crockett, Currier and Ives, Dallas, death songs, dime novels, disco, double features, Elvis is alive, M.C. Escher. SA

Publisher: Haworth
Paperback: 379 pages
Illustrated

“You have a unique opportunity,” Dr. Alfred Kinsey told the author. “This is too good a chance to miss.” So the author, who had abandoned a university job to become a tattoo artist, took notes. Lots of notes—on sailors’ buddy-buddy conversations, hustler personalities, and observations on the macho men strutting in colored ink. The result is an anecdotal history of the “dermagraphics” of mid-century America, including an analysis of 25 sexual reasons why people got tattooed. Guilt and punishment is one: “It’s easier to give you a couple of bucks… than go to confession,” said an adulterous husband of getting his wife’s name inscribed. Advertisement is another: “Within the pubic hair of a male hooker, I put the figure of $10; above the mons veneris of a whore, I wrote ‘Pay as You Enter’”. GR

Publisher: Haworth
Paperback: 204 pages

Ever wondered where the self-affirmation “Every day in every way, I am getting better and better” came from? Find out in this Cliff Notes-like guide to social phenomena. There isn’t deep analysis here, but enough information to allow one to bluff at dinner parties. However, one of the biggest flaws of a book like this (and those of self-proclaimed answer men, such as Cecil Adams) is that they are only as good as their sources. Lack of information and cultural bias can give short shrift to unconventional beliefs. TC

Publisher: Haworth
Paperback: 285 pages

“‘There’s all kinds of hustlers,’ he said. ‘Every salesman’s a hustler. A workaholic’s a hustler about his job… Hustling’s a universal occupation.’” A free-form “attempt to get into the mind and personality of the male hustler through a largely imagined series of dialogs between a well-known fictional hustler” and his biographer. Motivations, lifestyle, advantages and disadvantages are chronicled in a racy conversation, gleaned from interviews with hundreds of real dick ‘n’ dollar boys. GR

Publisher: Haworth
Paperback: 147 pages