William E. Hartman; Marilyn Fithian; Donald Johnson. Nudist Society : An Authoritative, Complete Study of Nudism in America. New York: Crown Publishers, 1970.
pp. 432. With 55 photo illustrations throughout. Bound in green publisher's cloth with title along spine. DJ not price cliped. Both DJ and cover have stain along bottom edge; some fraying to bottom edge of fabric of cover. DJ somewhat discoloured. Interior clean though somewhat dulled. Overall GOOD condition.
CW: This work contains documentary photographs of nudist families, including images of nude adults and children, reflecting the naturist movement of the period. The material is presented in a cultural and social context typical of 1970s naturist publications and is non-sexual in nature.
A pioneering sociological study of modern nudism, Nudist Society offers one of the earliest comprehensive examinations of the naturist movement in America and abroad. Written after five years of intensive research by two trained sociologists and a long-time practicing nudist, the book investigates who participates in nudist communities, why they do so, and how the movement intersects with family life, religion, law, psychology, and sexual behavior.
Beginning with the establishment of the first nudist resort in Germany in 1903 and tracing the movement’s expansion to more than 130 camps in the United States, the authors approach their subject with academic rigor and deliberate objectivity. They address prevailing misconceptions while situating nudism within broader mid-twentieth-century conversations about social norms and ethics surrounding public nudity.
Illustrated throughout with fifty-five photographs, this work stands as an important document in the history of the sociology of alternative social movements, reflecting the era’s emerging effort to analyze intimate life through empirical research rather than moral judgment.