Houdini, Tarzan, and the perfect man : the White male body and the challenge of modernity in America / John F. Kasson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Kasson, John F., 1944-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Men in popular culture--United States--History.

Men in popular culture.

Masculinity in popular culture--United States--History.

Masculinity in popular culture.

Human body--Social aspects--United States.

Human body.

Human body--Social aspects.

History.

United States.

Sandow, Eugen, 1867-1925.

Sandow, Eugen.

Houdini, Harry, 1874-1926.

Houdini, Harry.

Tarzan (Fictitious character).

Tarzan.

Physical Description:

viii, 256 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Hill and Wang, 2001.

Summary:

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.

Contents:

1 Who is the Perfect Man?: Eugen Sandow and a New Standard for America 21

2 The Manly Art of Escape: The Metamorphoses of Ehrich Weiss 77

3 "Still a Wild Beast at Heart": Edgar Rice Burroughs and the Dream of Tarzan 157.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [225]-244) and index.

ISBN:

0809088622

OCLC:

45438299