Studies in Occultism

The story opens with a shipwreck on a Pacific island of the young friends Ralph Rover, Jack Martin and Peterkin Gay

No life form has had a greater impact on this planet than the human male. What is it that has made his legacy so utterly distinct from that of all other life forms, including even the human female? Following on from the international success of The Naked Woman, Desmond Morris investigates this intriguing evolutionary success story. The Naked Man is a study of the masculine body from head to toe, examining biological features of the male anatomy in illuminating detail, and describing the many ways in which these features have been modified, suppressed or exaggerated by local customs and changes in social fashions. This is a natural history of man, viewing him as a fascinating specimen of a far from rare, but nevertheless endangered species.

As with its companion title, The Naked Man is written from a zoologist’s perspective and packed full of scientific fact, engaging anecdote and thought-provoking conclusions, including a controversial chapter examining male sexuality.

This profound analysis of the nature of art is the culmination of a series of essays and polemics on issues of morality, social justice, and religion. Considering and rejecting the idea that art reveals and reinvents through beauty, Tolstoy perceives the question of the nature of art to be a religious one. Ultimately, he concludes, art must be a force for good, for the progress and improvement of mankind. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.