A Brief History of Nakedness

Now in B-format paperback, A Brief History of Nakedness traces our preoccupation with nudity in religion, politics, and popular culture.

Rather than study the history of the fine-art nude, for example, this book explores new territory, revealing the ways in which religious teachers, politicians, protestors, and cultural icons have used nudity to enlighten or empower themselves, or simply to entertain us.

From the naked sages of India and St Francis of Assisi to modern-day druids and Christian nudists, from The Full Monty and Calendar Girls to Lady Godiva and Lady Gaga, A Brief History of Nakedness surveys the touching, sometimes tragic, and often bizarre story of our relationship with our own and with others' naked bodies.

'I absolutely loved A Brief History of Nakedness. Besides being a fascinating read, it contains the most fun, intriguing, and diverse collection of nude photographs anywhere. A must for anyone interested in art, political activism, and cultural studies. This "brief" history must have taken forever to research. It makes me want to rip off my clothes for a good cause immediately.' — Annie Sprinkle PhD, artist / sexologist

'In this lucid and wide-ranging book, Philip Carr-Gomm...strips bare the paradoxes of humanity's attitude toward its own naked figures. Using a snappy blend of history and imagery, he invites readers to join him in making thrilling, confusing, funny, and beautiful realizations about that simultaneously mysterious and obvious state of unclothedness. From the rituals of witchcraft to the human art installations of Spencer Tunick to the non-nakedness of the Naked Chef, Carr-Gomm offers the revelation that, far from being merely a basic physical state, human nakedness — sacred, obscene — holds the key to understanding politics, culture, and our very nature as human beings.' — Kathleen Rooney, author of Live Nude Girl: My Life as an Object