{"product_id":"the-little-book-of-tom-9783836588652","title":"The Little Book of Tom","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs a boy, Tom's first crush was a strapping young farmhand who worked the fields around his family home. Finland is a land of tough physical men, catching fish in the icy sea; cutting logs in the endless forests; threshing oats, rye, and barley on the farms. Tom, a more sensitive boy, admired these rough men and their distinctive clothing, designed for protection and utility. He later said, \"When I was young, leather was worn by people who worked outside because it was warm. \u003cem\u003eAll the men who wore leather, they were the type of men which I adored\u003c\/em\u003e.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWhen he began to draw he celebrated these early idols, improving their wardrobes with \u003cstrong\u003etight jeans, faded T-shirts, and thigh-high beak-toed Lappish boots\u003c\/strong\u003e. It was a young logger in this gear who appeared on the spring 1957 cover of \u003cem\u003ePhysique Pictorial\u003c\/em\u003e, introducing Tom to the world. In the decades to follow, Tom added \u003cstrong\u003etruckers, repairmen, construction workers, circus roustabouts, and the American cowboy to his roster of working-class heroes\u003c\/strong\u003e. Though just sexual fantasies for him, his portrayal of blue-collar lovers helped working class gays accept their true selves.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Little Book of Tom: Blue Collar\u003c\/em\u003e traces Tom's fascination with working men in one compact and affordable package. A \u003cstrong\u003ebrawny lineup of multi-panel comics and single-panel drawings and paintings\u003c\/strong\u003e is set alongside archival and contextual material, including historic film stills and posters, personal photos of Tom, sketches, and Tom's own reference photos.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Thames and Hudson (Australia) Pty Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47599610921196,"sku":"9783836588652","price":45.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/634a20bb819eda6406715eca39e76250.jpg?v=1778021986","url":"https:\/\/bookhero.co.nz\/products\/the-little-book-of-tom-9783836588652","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}