What can I say, I saw a review of this book on Goodreads and I just had to request it for myself and this is if I had to pick just one coffee-table book the one I would want to have. The pictures are gorgeous and funny and I love the little note of explanation to the pictures. And, the book also has one of the best introduction I've ever read.

The pictures, you know what, I have of course taken some screen caps to show how lovely they are so I will just show you them and you will see for yourself why this is the one coffee-table book to have:



I wouldn't mind having pictures from this book on my walls at home...

I want to thank Ten Speed Press for providing me with a free copy for an honest review! ( )

What can I say, I saw a review of this book on Goodreads and I just had to request it for myself and this is if I had to pick just one coffee-table book the one I would want to have. The pictures are gorgeous and funny and I love the little note of explanation to the pictures. And, the book also has one of the best introduction I've ever read.

The pictures, you know what, I have of course taken some screen caps to show how lovely they are so I will just show you them and you will see for yourself why this is the one coffee-table book to have:



I wouldn't mind having pictures from this book on my walls at home...

I want to thank Ten Speed Press for providing me with a free copy for an honest review! ( )

Red-Blooded American Male: A Singular Take on Male Portraiture is a beautiful coffee table book full of humorous and sometimes super sexy photographs of mostly American men. Super. Sexy. American. Men.

There is a short and funny interview with the author/photographer/documentary film maker Robert Trachtenberg. Also, most of the photos include little tidbits about the circumstances surrounding the shoot.

That said, let's get back to the photographs. I submit, for your viewing pleasure, Neil Patrick Harris:




I'm not sure who this man is, and I'm not sure I really care:



A lot of the photographs are funny and others rather touching:




Two legends of Hollywood: Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner:



I guess I need to stop there or you would have no reason to buy this book. It's obvious that Mr. Trachtenberg has something about him that establishes a certain rapport with his subjects. Whether it's their confidence that they're in good hands and they trust the man, or if it's something else, I don't pretend to know.

I do know that even though I have an advance copy on my Kindle, I'm feeling a need to buy this one in hardcover. Just so that I can pick it up anytime I want and view the work of a true artist. Highly recommended!

Red-Blooded American Male goes on sale September 13, 2016, but you can pre-order it here: https://www.amazon.com/Red-Blooded-American-Male-Robert-Trachtenberg/dp/16077496... blooded american male

*Thank you to Net Galley and Amphoto books for the free advance copy.*

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This is an amazing photography, coffee table book. I never thought I would drool over a picture of Dougie Houser (Neil Patrick Harris) but the shot of him in this book is amazing. It is important to note that you must also read this book. The introduction not only explains the premise and reason for a male oriented photo essay book, but is an interview with the photographer that is a hoot. Not all of the pictures have text, but those that do will make you smile and appreciate the work for more than just the human figure. The anecdotes are informative as well as humourous. This is definitely a book that would be picked up over and over to peruse. It could be used like one of those calendars where there is a page for each day. You could open it and turn the page each morning and leave the house with a huge smile. When it was done, just start again, you would never tire of looking at these amazing photos.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. ( )

Cheesecake Galore!

(Full disclosure: I received a free copy of this book for review through Blogging for Books.)

If I could give this book ten stars, I'd still complain that ten isn't enough, that the rating scale is rigged and/or incapable of handling a title of this magnitude. Red-Blooded American Male: Photographs IS THAT GOOD.



I mean, just take a gander at that cover. Will Arnett! In fishnets! And black combat boots! Squeezed into a slinky dress and splayed on a swanky couch, looking all emo! Like some random dude just mansplained how the backlash against Paul Feig's Ghostbusters reboot is really about authenticity and faithfulness to the source material, not sexism and misogyny, you silly girl you! Or maybe it was some diatribe about Gamergate and journalistic integrity. It doesn't really matter, because he stopped listening several drinks ago. Mind: blown, but in the worst way possible.

Red-Blooded American Male is a collection of photographer/filmmaker Robert Trachtenberg's (mostly) celebrity photography, from 1994 to the present day. There are actors, singers, athletes, entrepreneurs, chefs, models - even a few children, paired with the occasional woman and/or dog. (Meryl Streep arm wrestling Tommy Lee Jones is a definite keeper.) I was only familiar with, like, half of them; many I'd never heard of. Some none of us will have; for example, little Caleb Ivison, whose mom traded some editing work for Trachtenberg for a photo shoot of her kids. Anyway, consider my interest sufficiently piqued. (This only applies to the 18-and-over crowd, obvs.)

Spoiler alert: not all of Trachtenberg's subjects are American. (I'm down with bending the rules for some of the guys, but Justin Bieber? Really? Throw in a Ryan Reynolds doing his Deadpool shtick and maybe we'll call it even.)



The photos are uniformly stunning, with a mix of black-and-white and full-color images. At 10"x13", the book is nice and big, and so are the photos; each one occupies at least a full page, with some spanning two. Each image deftly captures the personality of its subject, with a fun and eclectic mix of tongue-in-cheek sexy/cheesecake; goofy and playful; sophisticated and classy; dark and moody (Jimmy Fallon legit looks ready to jump; someone make sure he's okay, yes?); and straight-up bananarama bonkers.



Many of the photos are accompanied by a brief description of how the shoot went down; these tend to be super-funny and greatly enhanced my appreciation of the artwork. See, e.g., Janes Van Der Beek's "Tush," "More Tush," and "Even More Tush"; or how Bryan Fuller's nighttime routine is meant to "restor[e] sensations first felt in the womb." I found myself nursing an intense sense of disappointment when a photo - especially a favorite, or of an actor or celebrity I fancy - went un-commented upon. But I guess the way to look at it is, maybe these stories were meh and would have turned us off, so better to omit them altogether?

My favorites include Judd Apatow, with his cheeseburger baby bump;



a fierce Jimmy Kimmel cosplaying as Daenerys Targaryen; Bryan Fuller, with his moisturizing gloves and dog pile;



Bryan Cranston being moody AF; the recreation of Herb Ritts's iconic 1989 naked supermodel huddle, done with the cast of Jackass; Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart, from way back when they were on Comedy Central, naturally; the morning after Bob Saget's drug-fueled romp with a furry; Kevin Hart being pulled along the beach by a Great Dane/small pony;



the acid trip-like John Leguizamo montage; and Denis Leary feeding a...barnyard full of Chihuahuas?



I don't know what's going on there, but I want in. (I'm a crazy dog lady, can you tell?)

Oh, and Jeff Garlin on the treadmill in the middle of the forest? Strangely endearing, if only because I could imagine Murray Goldberg doing something stubbornly nonsensical like that. (Dear ABC, please publish his attempt at scrapbooking on the internets. TIA!)

Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner sharing an embrace is hecka sweet, though I found myself wishing it was Sir Patrick Stewart and Sir Ian Mckellen. Those two are my OTP of elderly white guys.



Okay, so they're all kind of awesome. YOU NEED THIS BOOK. Get it, now! Then go buy a copy for your elderly grandmother / recently divorced mom / college aged, still-figuring-himself-out younger brother / amateur photographer aunt. Basically anyone and everyone, male or female, gay or straight, genderqueer or pansexual. It's silly, it's sexy, and it's even a little subversive. David Bowie would be right at home here.

http://www.easyvegan.info/2016/12/26/red-blooded-american-male-by-robert-trachte... ( )