The Big Book of Breasts

The Big Books

by Dian Hanson

Some call it the American obsession, but men everywhere recognize the hypnotic allure of a large and shapely breast. In The Big Book of Breasts, Dian Hanson explores the origins of mammary madness through three decades of natural big-breasted nudes. Starting with the World War II Bosom-Mania that spawned Russ Meyer, Howard Hughes's The Outlaw and Frederick's of Hollywood, Dian guides you over, around, and in between the dangerous curves of infamous models: Michelle Angelo, Candy Barr, Virginia Bell, Joan Brinkman, Lorraine Burnett, Lisa De Leeuw, Uschi Digard, Candye Kane, Jennie Lee, Sylvia McFarland, Margaret Middleton, Paula Page, June Palmer, Roberta Pedon, Rosina Revelle, Candy Samples, Tempest Storm, Linda West, June Wilkinson, Julie Wills, and dozens more, including Guinness World Record holder Norma Stitz, possessor of the World's Largest Natural Breasts.

The 420 pages of this book contain the most beautiful and provocative black and white and color photos ever created of these iconic women, plus nine original interviews, including the first with Tempest Storm and Uschi Digard in over a decade, and the last with Candy Barr before her untimely death in 2005. In a world where silicone is now the norm, these spectacular real women stand as testament that nature knows best.

Genres: Photography, Erotica, Art, Adult, Art and Photography, Nonfiction, Sexuality

Unknown Binding

First published September 1, 2006

About the author

Dian Hanson (born November 2, 1951) began her publishing career as an American pornographic magazine editor, historian, and occasional model, helping found the 1970s hardcore journal Puritan, then moving on to Partner, OUI, Adult Cinema Review, Outlaw Biker and Big Butt, among others. She was most famously the editor of Juggs and Leg Show sexual fetish magazines from 1987–2001.

Reviews

[Scot · Rating 5 out of 5]

A few things: 1) This is a Taschen book, so it is an art book. 2) As an artist, I must keep up to date on all things "art". 3) This book actually is educational. Really. 4) My wife bought it for me; she knows how much I love art.

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, awesome. So my friend has this book in her house, and I "read" it (alright, more like viewed it.. there isn't much text and I skipped it anyway), whilst waiting for my turn in guitar hero. It's interesting enough that when it was my turn I was like.. "oh.. you can go again, I'm still looking at this". It is really cool, and I didn't know this before reading the goodreads description, but the book is all about natural big breasts. I didn't know this when I viewed it, so I was just like "WOW! Holy crap! Are these real? I can't believe people back in the day had such naturally big breasts". I don't think women are built like that anymore.. which was one of the most interesting parts of it to me. Just seeing how women's bodies (well, model women) changed over time. I mean, thin-ish women with giant natural breasts are few and far between even today.. but I think our current focus on being skinny above all things has perhaps lessened this. I don't know.. the point is... models were much more beautiful and natural back in the day. This book is divided by decades.. and there was a decade.. I think it was the 50's.. that was my favorite. Or maybe it was the 20's. It was a long time ago, whenever it was. Around the 70's and on I was like "eh".. the sense of style from that time on was a lot... crappier. And YES, this book is more than just "ohhh boobies", because, like I said, you can see the trends in style, like with hair and makeup, and the evolution of body-style, and stuff like that, which I found interesting. And yes, "ohh boobies", too.

Also: this book weighs like 20 pounds. So be careful, if you set it on your glass living room table, the table may crumble from the weight (of the awesome..)

[Evelyne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A part of the big franchise by Taschen and it covers off a lot of BIG personalities 😂 Vintage and as per usual very well lay out ❤️

[Stuart Rimmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my guilty pleasures, this one. Bought for me as a Christmas present a few years back, it is a distracting tome, extolling the virtues of natural, unenhanced breasts. I understand the need for plastic surgery in certain circumstances - for reconstruction, or for severe psychological reasons - but in terms of aesthetics you cannot beat a pair of real, properly hanging, all natural breasts - whatever the size. Gravity defying, ridiculously zeppelinesque implants may as well be a pair of Melchet's comedy breasts (see Blackadder II, episode:beer) in my eyes. This book is a celebration of true heavy hangers. Keep it (them) real. Hurrah!

[Scott Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book cover looks tasteful, but I like it.

[Sandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

My my... That was SOME book. It indeed IS a book of Big breasts and they all ranges from different sizes, colors, shapes and eras. Very enlightening.

Ok, the book had very limited reading material, but I really enjoyed reading them. How the breasts walked through all that was done to them was quite the experience. It definitely was fascinating to read about some vintage ladies with some attractive melons.

And the pictures. Oh boy, they were so vintage and Very revealing. I guess 50s to 70s were some exiting years.

And she says, Bigger the better. Guess it's true when it comes to somethings..

Book #58 of 2023

[Thor Garcia · Rating 5 out of 5]

"You’re a goddess," I whispered, "sent from heaven to spread loveliness and desire across this tormented, ignoble sphere of death and degradation. I worship you."

"I’ve always been a leg man, that’s well known. Yet, there’s still nothing quite like boobs. Boobs are like booze, and they’re better than cocaine and heroin. Everything else has totally crapped out. Without boobs, what have we? Nothing. Nothing at all."
- Thor Garcia, August 14, 2016

[Bryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Taschen makes the best art books. Period. Even the introductory text by Dian Hanson, on the evolution of breast-fixation in American men, is excellent. (Yes, I read it for the articles!)

Oh, yeah, the pictures are really awesome too.

[Kirk]

I doubt I'll "read" it. I have enough trouble sleeping at night.

[Morbhen MacRath · Rating 4 out of 5]

Someone donated this to Oxfam but we couldn’t sell it because it blurred the line between erotic art and pornography (which is a difficult line to draw), so I grabbed it for 10p.

Admittedly I just picked it up because heheheh boobs, but it was genuinely really interesting and refreshing to see the beauty standards of the 50s-70s (particularly how natural the breasts and pubic hair are). There’s some really beautiful photos :)

[Oriana]

I can't actually get this book for myself, so I'd better wait until my bf does something really really nice, and then I can get it for him. To look at when I'm done with it.




On second thought, why wait? He's never going to do something all that nice anyway, right?

[Jodumb Gearhart]

My bible!!!! I just clipped a page and took it to the plastic surgeon with me!

[Robert Adam Gilmour · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book. Perhaps it should have been in the title that it focuses on the 1950s-60s-70s (something like 96% of the photos are from this period) but two of the models interviewed started in the 80s as far as I know. The photography is generally better than it would become in the 80s onward (I got a sense that the older photographers might have a broader interest in their craft), the interviews are good and there's some interesting things about adult magazines, films, burlesque and strip clubs in the introduction.

Some quibbles...

-Most of the major models from this era are covered but there's no Busty Russell at all, I don't recall her even being mentioned. That's a shame because she was very distinctive.
-There really should have been a more recent photo of Michelle Angelo. She says in her interview how much bustier she is now but you'll have to find her newer photos online.
-Longer interviews would have been nice and a few more of them.
-There's a John Cebollero statue near the beginning but it's uncredited.
-A few newer models are shown but it would have been nice if there was some acknowledgement of the other major models that came after the 70s for the people who aren't familiar with this world.

But this book is still spectacular.

There was a much smaller version of this book with 40% different content but I've never seen it.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Me encantó, me fascinó, en especial cuando finalmente dejaron de hablar de los manes y empezaron a entrevistar a las mujeres que le pusieron el pecho a la industria, las que mostraban cómo era la realidad de frente y lo diversas que son todas las vidas de todas las personas. E igualmente, poder extrapolar que cada chica que salía en cada una de estas fotos tiene una historia igual de compleja, igual de llena que cada una de las que sí pudieron entrevistar.

Tal vez mi única crítica es que pusieron la entrevista de Candye Kane hacia el final y, por lo tanto, no pude escuchar la música de ella leyendo todo el libro, sino solamente el final, porque cuando lo pude hacer de algún modo le daba una mayor profundidad a cada expresión.

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Couldn't resist to lay my hands on this massive book (like the topic it deals with). What you get is definitely more than meets the eye. Women with the biggest knockers throughout the 20th century. From the earliest torpedo boobs to the 1970s. Excellent photos who fully point out why the lady is inside. The book itself is an absolute eye catcher. Must read for every fan of big breasts. Not silicone ones but rather the natural ones. Any favorites? Far too many. Roberta Pedon is inside as well as Kitten Navidad, some may know from Russ Meyer films. A quote at the end of the review? Not from me but from Anatole France: "A woman without breasts is like a bed without pillow". Well, nothing to add here. Highly recommended.

[Vander Alves · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was more charmed by the text than by the breasts: as in The Big Butt Book, lots of interesting insight on how our culture deals with women's bodies.

[Andrew Messmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sexy history! Best part is all the ladies are real ladies. IYKYK

[Kent Douglas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an interesting book. Yes I'll admit to being a fancier of the curvier of the opposite sex but this book isn't only about looking at pin-ups in all their glory. You learn a lot about some of the women behind the picture and what their lives were, are and been. It's really quite beautiful in that respect. In someways it makes me a little sad that women don't get shown pictorially this way any more. It's a bit reflective of the problems of today. No women in magazines look this real anymore.

So in a way it's like the classical, curvy-chic is dead, long live the chic.

[Sandra Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will always be reading this book! ;) (Thanks Will and Elizabeth!)

[Dicarlte · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simon bought me this book after seeing it somewhere in the chicago art museum. It is actually a huge book, as in it will not fit on a book shelf. If I had a coffee table, it would be on it.

[Ian Mcdowell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heh heh. Boobies.

[Martin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. Either I'm not a boob man or somebody managed to put together an entire book on breasts without a hint of eroticism.

[Ietrio · Rating 2 out of 5]

Breasts.
Actually this book should be called the big book of big breasts.
Shockingly dull.

[Bobbi]

Awesome, loved it more than my husband did!