Houdini, Tarzan, and the Perfect Man: the White Male Body and the Challenge of Modernity in America - John F. Kasson - Books - Hill and Wang - 9780809055470 - July 2, 2002
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Houdini, Tarzan, and the Perfect Man: the White Male Body and the Challenge of Modernity in America 1st edition

John F. Kasson

Houdini, Tarzan, and the Perfect Man: the White Male Body and the Challenge of Modernity in America 1st edition

An important new work from one of our premier cultural historians.

Houdini, Tarzan, and the Perfect Man considers the surprisingly complex evolution in representations of the white male body in late-nineteenth-century America, during years of rapid social transformation. John F. Kasson argues that three exemplars of physical prowess -- Eugen Sandow, an international vaudeville star and bodybuilder; Edgar Rice Burroughs's fictional hero Tarzan; and the great escape artist Harry Houdini -- represented both an ancient ideal of manhood and a modern commodity. They each extolled self-development, self-fulfillment, and escape from the confines of civilization while at the same time reasserting its values. This liberally illustrated, persuasively argued study analyzes the thematic links among these figures and places them in their rich historical and cultural context.

Media Books     Paperback Book   (Book with soft cover and glued back)
Released July 2, 2002
ISBN13 9780809055470
Publishers Hill and Wang
Pages 288
Dimensions 140 × 211 × 20 mm   ·   385 g
Language English  

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