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Rating: 
Summary: Not "Rankin"....Just "Rank Male Nudes"
Review: I found this book to be rather disturbing. Although there is a wide variety of ages and bodytypes, it appears to be done by an amatuer just looking to make a few bucks. So if you enjoy looking at the elderly and obese naked.....this is your book....otherwise.....go buy a cheap porno...it has to be better than this book!
Rating: 
Summary: It's a Matter of Taste.......or whatever.............
Review: It's all a matter of personal taste whether you like this book or not. It's all in what you believe a book of male nudes should be. Do you believe a book of male nudes should be a fantasy of perfection & beauty or stark naked ugliness in all of it's day to day reality? We all create our own fantasies and I think in this day and age we are looking for handsome, muscular or at least in good shape male nude models to gaze upon. This is clearly evident in the increased sales of the many popular male nude photographer's books, for example: Bruce Weber, Herb Ritts, Steven Underhill, Adam Raphael, and so many more. They strive to show us all what we desire and possibly wish for.
That being said, this book is beautifully produced, well-designed, and the photography of Rankin is very creative in regards to lighting, shadows, and clarity. It's the subject matter that is just not appealing in most of these photos. This photo presentation was an attempt to challenge one of the last remaining social taboos: the male nude. Well, I think we are well beyond that now, and it's been accomplished, as I mentioned by all these other male nude photographers. Ads were placed in Time Out and Dazed & Confused magazines for male nude models and it produced over 150 responses. So you're going to find a variety of shapes, sizes, looks, and body types in this book.
If you're looking for excellent photography you may enjoy this book. However, if you looking for another male nude book of images of young, handsome muscular looking models, this is not for you. I believe there's a humorous side to this type of book, but I don't think it's the male nude photography we've all become accustomed to enjoying and appreciating. You've been forewarned! Proceed with Caution!!
Rating:
Summary: It's a Matter of Taste.......or whatever.............
Review: It's all a matter of personal taste whether you like this book or not. It's all in what you believe a book of male nudes should be. Do you believe a book of male nudes should be a fantasy of perfection & beauty or stark naked ugliness in all of it's day to day reality? We all create our own fantasies and I think in this day and age we are looking for handsome, muscular or at least in good shape male nude models to gaze upon. This is clearly evident in the increased sales of the many popular male nude photographer's books, for example: Bruce Weber, Herb Ritts, Steven Underhill, Adam Raphael, and so many more. They strive to show us all what we desire and possibly wish for.
That being said, this book is beautifully produced, well-designed, and the photography of Rankin is very creative in regards to lighting, shadows, and clarity. It's the subject matter that is just not appealing in most of these photos. This photo presentation was an attempt to challenge one of the last remaining social taboos: the male nude. Well, I think we are well beyond that now, and it's been accomplished, as I mentioned by all these other male nude photographers. Ads were placed in Time Out and Dazed & Confused magazines for male nude models and it produced over 150 responses. So you're going to find a variety of shapes, sizes, looks, and body types in this book.
If you're looking for excellent photography you may enjoy this book. However, if you looking for another male nude book of images of young, handsome muscular looking models, this is not for you. I believe there's a humorous side to this type of book, but I don't think it's the male nude photography we've all become accustomed to enjoying and appreciating. You've been forewarned! Proceed with Caution!!
Rating:
Summary: Not "Rankin"....Just "Rank Male Nudes"
Review: Rankin's may focus his camera on naked men in this new book, but he doesn't find any beauty there. Known primarily for his mysogynist nudes of women, and his magazine work in trendoid cocaine frenzied Brit lifestyle mags, here he shows us that he hates men as well! While I wasn't expecting the glorious celebration of male beauty expressed by someone like Bruce Weber, it likewise carries none of the playful glamour of Mario Testino or testostrone fueled passion of Steven Klein. Skip this book and pick up instead this season's best new book of male studies, the monograph on Brazilian genius Alair Gomes.
Rating: 
Summary: Naked and ugly
Review: Rankin's may focus his camera on naked men in this new book, but he doesn't find any beauty there. Known primarily for his mysogynist nudes of women, and his magazine work in trendoid cocaine frenzied Brit lifestyle mags, here he shows us that he hates men as well! While I wasn't expecting the glorious celebration of male beauty expressed by someone like Bruce Weber, it likewise carries none of the playful glamour of Mario Testino or testostrone fueled passion of Steven Klein. Skip this book and pick up instead this season's best new book of male studies, the monograph on Brazilian genius Alair Gomes.
Rating: 
Summary: A Unique Perspective of Male Nakedness
Review: This book must be tackled in its entirety to be fully appreciated. And that includes the preface written by both Rankin as well as William Leith. It's not fluffed with pretty pictures of pretty men, one after another after another. It is instead strong testimony from an artist, who admittedly is far more familiar with a woman's terrain, that the male body is worthy of study, worthy of admiration, and most important, worthy of the same general acceptance as the female body is. As Leith explains it, "A naked women is in a way, not naked, but dressed with centuries of imagery ... naked women come already supplied with a narrative... Naked men need explaining.." Rankin trashes this notion! Each image is impeccably photographed, as we'd expect from Rankin, and provides unique perspective on that individual. Young men, old men, beautiful men, and ugly men are paraded in their natural glory. The penis plays a major role here. It's not relegated to the background nor is it made the star player. It's just there, in almost every picture, part of the larger package. Altogether, it's packed with personality and is a wonderful slice of what the men amongst look like naked. Readers looking for a fantasy or for a new vision will be disappointed - this work is purposely NOT about that. It is, nonetheless, fragrant with beauty and humor, magnificence and ridiculousness, inspiration and indignation, and (hopefully) with a new level of acceptance.
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