TIDINGS

Margaret Mead became famous in 1928 when she published COMING OF AGE IN SAMOA. It was a study of adolescent girls on that island and it was candid, for the times,  about their sexual behaviors. It became a bestseller.

In 1983, Derek Freeman published a scathing attack on Mead and her methodology. The brou-ha-ha his book provoked became one of those Macy's balloons in the culture wars of the 1980s.

PAUL SHANKMAN has written a history of the flap in THE TRASHING OF MARGARET MEAD: ANATOMY OF AN ANTHROPOLOGICAL CONTROVERSY. Why did Freeman take on Mead's work? Why did his attack on Mead become a subject for the  popular media? In the Reagan '80s, the right-wing assault was unleashed, on sexual freedom, cultural relativism and the nature-nurture discourse. Mead was a perfect target--a progressive from the 1920s, taking the stories of women, obviously contrasting an Oceanic culture with that of the USA. Later in the 1980s came the attack on Kinsey. The New Right (has the right-wing ever been "new"?) had their shopping list. And still do.

Shankman's account of the controversy is well-researched and comprehensive. This is a trade paperback from the University of Wisconsin Press with notes, bibliography and an index, $29.95

THE WEST WING, $12.00

THE GLORIOUS NOSEBLEED, $12.00

Also new in print is THE RECENTLY DEFLOWERED GIRL: THE RIGHT THING TO SAY ON EVERY DUBIOUS OCCASION by HYACINTHE PHYPPS and illustrated by GOREY, $12.00

George was a successful military man and took to the challenges of the Civil War. Jeff became a successful water engineer, in whose tenure the Brooklyn Water Works was built. Walt became the writer and civil servant, even tending to Brother George during one of his hospital visits. These three Whitmans wrote lots of letters, which  Roper generously quotes. NOW THE DRUM OF WAR is a different viewing of Whitman and his family, frank, affectionate yet sometimes hard; the members of the family lived hard lives. The horrors of the Civil War, as experienced by George on the battlefields, and Walter in the often jerry-built hospital facilities, are simply hard to imagine. Before the germ theory, before antibiotics.

NOW THE DRUM OF WAR is a trade paperback from Walker & Company, $18.00

His latest biography, wittily titled, is HOW TO BE A MOVIE STAR: ELIZABETH TAYLOR IN HOLLYWOOD. The film industry is pretty much in the business of creating archetypes--the voluptuary being a prime slot. But Taylor was so much more than just the voluptuary we might recall. She started as a child actor and then was developed into the sexy siren. She reigned as the Queen of movie magazines--back when we used to have movie magazines (well, for a few years, she shared that role with Jackie Kennedy). And, here's the beauty part, she stayed famous! Her dramatic gifts were considerable--think WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF! Mann captures the many facets of Taylor, the movies, the marriages, her bold stroke of independence, her problems with alcohol and pain killer addictions, the many medical procedures. Taylor's has been a life crowded with incident--in Cinerama!

HOW TO BE A MOVIE STAR is a hardcover from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $28.00. Black and white photos included.

Schulman's presentation is direct and heart-felt; her argument is cogent. She identifies the problem concisely and struggles with the way to a solution. This book is different from the others Schulman has written--more political/social analysis and a sobering cry from the heart--and head!. What makes Schulman's book so exceptional is that her analysis seems to be the first in popular literature about this commonly-experienced phenomenon that has not been either acknowledged or addressed.

TIES THAT BIND is a hardcover from The New Press, $23.95

PRIVATE MOMENTS is a hardcover from Bruno Gmünder, $99.99

GODS OF FOOTBALL is an oversized hardcover from Bruno Gmünder, $89.99

The invention and mass application of photography was a great trigger as was the reaction to urbanized industrial culture. The strong male body was an erotic advertisement and, implicitly, one for good health.

Lavishly illustrated with pictures of the early muscle-builders and health pitches, there are many photos featuring those from the world of show business and those who specialized in physique photography, like Bruce of Los Angeles. The narrative ends just before the mainstreaming of the porno culture in the USA.

AMERICAN HUNKS is a trade paperback from Arsenal Pulp Press. The photo reproductions are in both black and white and color. $29.95

This anthology is set in the heat of battle, volatile situations where fear, urgency and uncertainty can lead to intimacy and release.

Contributors include Jack Fritscher, T. Hitman, Simon Sheppard, Jay Starre and others.

SPECIAL FORCES is a trade paperback from Cleis Press, $14.95