He is the author of four books, including The People′s Tycoon: Henry Ford and the American Century and The Magic Kingdom: Walt Disney and the American Way of Life. His series of biographies of major figures—Henry Ford, Dale Carnegie, Walt Disney, Hugh Hefner—has explored the shaping of a modern value-system devoted to consumerism, self-fulfillment, leisure, and personality. Los Angeles Times Gorgeous young women in revealing poses; extravagant mansion parties packed with celebrities; a hot-tub grotto, elegant smoking jackets, and round rotating beds; the hedonistic pursuit of uninhibited sex. They were also reviewed in scholarly journals such as the Journal of American History and American Quarterly.

Choice Reviews , May 2009) ""Just past the round rotating bed, beyond the hot-tub grotto but before the pajama-draped walk-in, lies . I messaged the seller and they refunded me for the book and let me keep it as a courtesy for the mix up. Playboy , Hefner′s ideal for living –– marked by his allegiances to Tarzan, Freud, Pepsi–Cola and jazz –– proves to be a kind of gloss on the Protestant work ethic. Title Page A page at the front of a book which may contain the title of the book, any subtitles, the authors, contributors, editors, the. Distinctly different from their later works, Burroughs and Kerouac's collaborative 1945 novel (unpublished until 2008) reimagines their experience when one of their friends killed his lover.Newark Star Ledger ) ""Like it or not, Hugh Hefner has affected all of us, so I treasured learning about how and why in the sober biography. constructs a nuanced portrait of Hefner′s life that also serves as a panorama of hip culture from the 1950s onward Sinatra, JFK and many others put in appearances. A] nuanced portrait of Hefner’s life that also serves as a panorama of hip culture from the 1950s onward…Probably the last word on the man behind a million adolescent fantasies. Newark Star Ledger ""Like it or not, Hugh Hefner has affected all of us, so I treasured learning about how and why in the sober biography.

Just past the round rotating bed, beyond the hot-tub grotto but before the pajama-draped walk-in, lies … what? Watts’ books have been translated into German, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, Korean, Polish, and Romanian. Watts, a history professor turned biographer, analyzes the life and times of Hugh Hefner in this fascinating biography.He also succeeds in identifying and exploring raging personal paradoxes—hedonist and workaholic, libertine and romantic, provocateur and traditionalist—while resisting the urge to attempt reconciliation. The Horatio–Alger–with–a–libido case he makes where else but in America could a repressed midwestern boy rise, and fall into so many sacks, while creating and brand–managing a multimedia empire? Though in time he would lose readers to more explicit magazines on one side and "lad" magazines on the other, the Playboy brand never lost its luster.

Throughout this fascinating biography, Watts offers singular insights into the real man behind the flamboyant public persona.Playboy , Hefner's ideal for living -- marked by his allegiances to Tarzan, Freud, Pepsi-Cola and jazz -- proves to be a kind of gloss on the Protestant work ethic. By the ′60s, Hefner was engaged in controversy, via his "Playboy Philosophy," and expansion, as the famed Playboy Clubs helped him build a business empire that reflected his sybaritic lifestyle in his notorious mansion. This book also illustrates how the social conditions of this post-war period changed to cater for the individual consumerist desires of today.