Playboy: The Complete Centerfolds, 1953-2016

Book excerpt: With the first centerfold image of the radiant Marilyn Monroe, Hugh M. Hefner masterminded a cultural icon: Playboy's Playmate of the Month. This voluptuous new edition celebrates every nude centerfold from every issue of Playboy, from 1953 to February 2016. Initially published a decade ago, and now comprehensively updated, this must-have edition boasts 734 nude centerfolds and decade openers from literary luminaries, including an all-new essay by Elizabeth Wurtzel on the last decade of centerfolds, and a redesigned package that perfectly captures the complete cultural and aesthetic arc of the Playboy centerfold. With contributions by: - Robert Coover - Paul Theroux - Robert Stone - Jay McInerney - Daphne Merkin - Maureen Gibbon - Elizabeth Wurtzel