Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Preview
  • Mr. Playboy

  • Hugh Hefner and the American Dream
  • By: Steven Watts
  • Narrated by: Ray Porter
  • Length: 18 hrs and 37 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (8 ratings)

£0.00 for first 30 days

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Mr. Playboy

By: Steven Watts
Narrated by: Ray Porter
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £20.99

Buy Now for £20.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Summary

When Hugh Hefner quit his job at Esquire to start a magazine called Playboy, he didn't just want to make money, he wanted to make dreams come true. The first issue had a Sherlock Holmes story by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, an article on the Dorsey brothers, and a feature on desk design for the modern office. Hefner wrote much of the copy himself and drew all the cartoons. But the most memorable part by far was the set of pictures he bought from a local calendar printer of a scantily clad Marilyn Monroe.

In this wise and penetrating biography, intellectual historian Steven Watts looks at what Hugh Hefner went on to become and how he took America with him. Hefner became one of the most hated and envied celebrities in America, standing just barely on the wrong side of decency - with as many as seven million subscribers to his magazine.

©2008 Steven Watts (P)2008 Blackstone Audio, Inc.
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

Bad Girls Go Everywhere cover art
Goddess cover art
Outlaw Marriages cover art
The Girls Next Door cover art
The Extra Woman cover art
Feminism and Pop Culture cover art
A Strange Stirring cover art
A Difficult Woman cover art
Marilyn cover art
With Amusement for All cover art
Goddess of the Market cover art
Homintern cover art
Chester B. Himes cover art
Joy cover art
Ava Gardner cover art
Wonder Woman Unbound cover art

What listeners say about Mr. Playboy

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    5
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    4
  • 4 Stars
    3
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    5
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

perfectly done book

felt like I was right there beside hugh. vividly written and in an extraordinary format. highly reccomend

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Hugh

Not what I expected. I wanted all the gossip of who was there at the mansion and what went (which you do get a little of). More about how the business began and what happened after.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!