What do you think?
Rate this book
Dirty! Dirty! Dirty! Of Playboys, Pigs, and Penthouse Paupers-An American Tale of Sex and Wonder
A wild and uncompromising history of four infamous magazines and the outlaws behind them, Dirty! Dirty! Dirty! is the first book to rip the sheet off of the sleazy myth-making machine of Hugh Hefner and Playboy, and reveal the doomed history of Hefner’s arch rival, Penthouse founder Bob Guccione, whose messiah complex and heedless spending — on a legendary flop of a movie paid for with bags of cash, a porn magazine for women, and a pie-in-the sky scheme for a portable nuclear reactor —fueled the greatest riches to rags story ever told.
The adventure begins in the early 1950s and rips through the tumultuous ’60s and ’70s —when Hustler’s Larry Flynt and Screw’s Al Goldstein were arrested dozens of times, recklessly pushing the boundaries of free speech, attacking politicians, and putting unapologetic filth front and center — through the 1990s when a sexed-up culture high on the Internet finally killed the era when men looked for satisfaction in the centerfold. As America goes, so goes it’s porn.
Along the way we meet many unexpected heroes—John Lennon, Lenny Bruce, Helen Gurley Brown, and the staff of Mad magazine among them—and villains—from Richard Nixon and the Moral Majority to Hugh Hefner himself, whose legacy, we learn, is built on a self-perpetuated lie.
The adventure begins in the early 1950s and rips through the tumultuous ’60s and ’70s —when Hustler’s Larry Flynt and Screw’s Al Goldstein were arrested dozens of times, recklessly pushing the boundaries of free speech, attacking politicians, and putting unapologetic filth front and center — through the 1990s when a sexed-up culture high on the Internet finally killed the era when men looked for satisfaction in the centerfold. As America goes, so goes it’s porn.
Along the way we meet many unexpected heroes—John Lennon, Lenny Bruce, Helen Gurley Brown, and the staff of Mad magazine among them—and villains—from Richard Nixon and the Moral Majority to Hugh Hefner himself, whose legacy, we learn, is built on a self-perpetuated lie.
324 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2011
14 people are currently reading
114 people want to read
About the author
Mike Edison
6 books30 followersMIKE EDISON is genuine rock’n’roll renaissance man. He is the former editor and publisher of famed cannabis magazine High Times, and was the editor-in-chief of the courageously irresponsible Screw. He is the author of 28 “adult” novels, and an internationally known musician who spent much of the 1980s and 90s seeing the world from behind a drum set, opening for bands as diverse as Sonic Youth, Sound Garden, and the Ramones. He has written extensive liner notes for, among others, Iggy Pop, and the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, and has contributed to numerous magazines and websites, including Huffington Post, the Daily Beast, the New York Observer, Spin (writing about the Rolling Stones), Interview, and New York Press, for which he covered classical music and professional wrestling.
His books have included the highly-praised memoirs I Have Fun Everywhere I Go and You Are A Complete Disappointment, as well as the sprawling social history of sex on the newsstand, Dirty! Dirty! Dirty!, written during his time as a writer-in-residence at the New York Public Library. He also writes prolifically about food and wine, notably collaborating with restaurateur and viniculturist Joe Bastianich on his New York Times bestselling memoir, Restaurant Man, of which writer Bret Easton Ellis has said, “The directness and energy have a cinematic rush . . . not a single boring sentence.”
His most recent book is Sympathy for the Drummer – Why Charlie Watts Matters, a rawkus appreciation of the Rolling Stones drummer.
Edison can frequently be seen with his long-running blues, gospel, and garage-punk experiment The Edison Rocket Train, and he speaks frequently on free speech, sex, drugs, and the American counterculture. He is “proof positive that one can be both edgy and erudite, lowbrow and literate, and take joy in the unbridled pleasures of the id without sacrificing the higher mind.” (PopMatters.com)
Edison lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. Please visit him at www.mikeedison.com
His books have included the highly-praised memoirs I Have Fun Everywhere I Go and You Are A Complete Disappointment, as well as the sprawling social history of sex on the newsstand, Dirty! Dirty! Dirty!, written during his time as a writer-in-residence at the New York Public Library. He also writes prolifically about food and wine, notably collaborating with restaurateur and viniculturist Joe Bastianich on his New York Times bestselling memoir, Restaurant Man, of which writer Bret Easton Ellis has said, “The directness and energy have a cinematic rush . . . not a single boring sentence.”
His most recent book is Sympathy for the Drummer – Why Charlie Watts Matters, a rawkus appreciation of the Rolling Stones drummer.
Edison can frequently be seen with his long-running blues, gospel, and garage-punk experiment The Edison Rocket Train, and he speaks frequently on free speech, sex, drugs, and the American counterculture. He is “proof positive that one can be both edgy and erudite, lowbrow and literate, and take joy in the unbridled pleasures of the id without sacrificing the higher mind.” (PopMatters.com)
Edison lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. Please visit him at www.mikeedison.com
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
January 10, 2025
"Men are obsessed with sex. We will pretty much do anything for it. We will wreck our cars for a glimpse of forbidden flesh [.] and walk into lampposts straining for a furtive glance . . . Because let's face it: When it comes to women, men are just plain ****ing dumb. [The magazine publishers] Hugh Hefner, Bob Guccione, Larry Flynt, and Al Goldstein understood that. And they were just as gaga as anyone - hell, among the four of them they had fifteen ex-wives. But they knew how to channel this, uh, dumbness into personal fortunes, to spin the dross of the male libido into gold." -- on page 7
A dueling historical and sociological work that is deluged by irreverent (if often outright obnoxious) humor, author Edison's Dirty! Dirty! Dirty! focuses on a quartet of men - the aforementioned Hefner, Guccione, Flynt and Goldstein - responsible for creating the notable or infamous magazines Playboy, Penthouse, Hustler, and Screw. As I type this review I realized I was going to refer to those periodicals here as 'pornographic,' but - as Edison occasionally points out in his thorough documentation - it really is a matter of opinion, with the U.S. Supreme Court even pulled into the muck to make a ruling more than once. Anyway . . . Hefner kicked off this revolution of sorts with his Playmates premiering way back in 1953, and the more explicit imitations / knock-offs then hitting the newsstands in the ensuing two decades. As a romp through a particularly sordid part of recent pop cultural history it was entertaining and informative with its certain sleaze factor, yet there were portions that were just disturbing (the murder of Playmate Dorothy Stratten) or downright disgusting (like Guccione's attempt at silver-screen success with his production of Caligula, with its behind-the-scenes details that will make many readers want to lose their lunch) as well. So this was not always a pretty story - I felt like I needed a hot shower or three afterwards - but at times it was an oddly compelling one.
A dueling historical and sociological work that is deluged by irreverent (if often outright obnoxious) humor, author Edison's Dirty! Dirty! Dirty! focuses on a quartet of men - the aforementioned Hefner, Guccione, Flynt and Goldstein - responsible for creating the notable or infamous magazines Playboy, Penthouse, Hustler, and Screw. As I type this review I realized I was going to refer to those periodicals here as 'pornographic,' but - as Edison occasionally points out in his thorough documentation - it really is a matter of opinion, with the U.S. Supreme Court even pulled into the muck to make a ruling more than once. Anyway . . . Hefner kicked off this revolution of sorts with his Playmates premiering way back in 1953, and the more explicit imitations / knock-offs then hitting the newsstands in the ensuing two decades. As a romp through a particularly sordid part of recent pop cultural history it was entertaining and informative with its certain sleaze factor, yet there were portions that were just disturbing (the murder of Playmate Dorothy Stratten) or downright disgusting (like Guccione's attempt at silver-screen success with his production of Caligula, with its behind-the-scenes details that will make many readers want to lose their lunch) as well. So this was not always a pretty story - I felt like I needed a hot shower or three afterwards - but at times it was an oddly compelling one.
December 20, 2018
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C933T...
Woody Allen in Bananas
So this is about porn. As the author, who worked in the industry, states – no matter how you try to gift wrap-it – its’ still smut!
This is an entertaining book (how could it not be) with an insider’s view. The hypocrisy and waves of fundamentalist puritanism that surface periodically in American history are outlined by the author. I always felt the dichotomy of the U.S. was well illustrated by the adjacent states of Utah (alcohol dry, Mormon) and Nevada (gambling and legalized prostitution).
This book presents four pornographers.
Of course, there is Hugh Hefner of Playboy whom the author frequently disparages. Hugh started it all by making porn mainstream, surrounding his photo-shopped models by ads for a wide range of lucrative products for the wealthy. As the author points out it was a monthly magazine fantasyland ranging from high-end consumer products to the centrefold.
There is also Penthouse (Bob Guccione) and Hustler (Larry Flynt). These were much more explicit than Playboy and in the later stages of the 20th century pushed to the outer reaches of porn – and to compete with the internet. And there was also Al Goldstein of Screw – a weekly newsletter for New York City that along with loads of ads for a variety of call-girls and call-boys, ruthlessly skewered all politicians. Both Guccione and Goldstein died in penury – even though at one time they had been very wealthy (more so Guccione).
The writing in this book is variable – from hilarious to juvenile to provocative to insightful. I didn’t need all those extra details about the making of the film Caligula by Guccione.
The author acknowledges that these magazines are geared to men – not women. And aside from the tragic life of Dorothy Stratten there is very little on the women who make up the pages and pictures of these magazines.
Page 179 Larry Flynt position paper when he ran for President in 1983
The Founding Fathers may very well have penned those words life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, but they returned home to rule over their slaves and dominate their obedient housewives and children. They never in their wildest dreams imagined a society so diversified that minorities and women would actually participate in government… I will immediately initiate legislation in Congress for massive social reforms. The first such law will levy a heavy fine against all qualified and able Americans who fail to VOTE. The American people must be made to realize that their vote is the real strength to be reckoned with… Teachers will earn at least $30,000 per year…I will put my full support behind the ERA…I will ask congress for legislation exempting all US servicemen from paying taxes.
Woody Allen in Bananas
So this is about porn. As the author, who worked in the industry, states – no matter how you try to gift wrap-it – its’ still smut!
This is an entertaining book (how could it not be) with an insider’s view. The hypocrisy and waves of fundamentalist puritanism that surface periodically in American history are outlined by the author. I always felt the dichotomy of the U.S. was well illustrated by the adjacent states of Utah (alcohol dry, Mormon) and Nevada (gambling and legalized prostitution).
This book presents four pornographers.
Of course, there is Hugh Hefner of Playboy whom the author frequently disparages. Hugh started it all by making porn mainstream, surrounding his photo-shopped models by ads for a wide range of lucrative products for the wealthy. As the author points out it was a monthly magazine fantasyland ranging from high-end consumer products to the centrefold.
There is also Penthouse (Bob Guccione) and Hustler (Larry Flynt). These were much more explicit than Playboy and in the later stages of the 20th century pushed to the outer reaches of porn – and to compete with the internet. And there was also Al Goldstein of Screw – a weekly newsletter for New York City that along with loads of ads for a variety of call-girls and call-boys, ruthlessly skewered all politicians. Both Guccione and Goldstein died in penury – even though at one time they had been very wealthy (more so Guccione).
The writing in this book is variable – from hilarious to juvenile to provocative to insightful. I didn’t need all those extra details about the making of the film Caligula by Guccione.
The author acknowledges that these magazines are geared to men – not women. And aside from the tragic life of Dorothy Stratten there is very little on the women who make up the pages and pictures of these magazines.
Page 179 Larry Flynt position paper when he ran for President in 1983
The Founding Fathers may very well have penned those words life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, but they returned home to rule over their slaves and dominate their obedient housewives and children. They never in their wildest dreams imagined a society so diversified that minorities and women would actually participate in government… I will immediately initiate legislation in Congress for massive social reforms. The first such law will levy a heavy fine against all qualified and able Americans who fail to VOTE. The American people must be made to realize that their vote is the real strength to be reckoned with… Teachers will earn at least $30,000 per year…I will put my full support behind the ERA…I will ask congress for legislation exempting all US servicemen from paying taxes.
October 9, 2023
There were great points in this book and then there were bad points in this book. I personally don’t believe an entire chapter dedicated to the production of Caligula was necessary. Did it have some relevance? Yes. Did I need 20+ pages discussing all the issues the filming, casting and directing had? No.
It’s definitely a book for people who like the weird history of things, like the fact that ‘…satire and ridicule of a public personae were protected speech. For comedians, journalists, professional shit-slingers, cartoonists, writers, and artist of every stripe, it was a major First Amendment victory’ was because of a Hustler parody ad of Jerry Falwell. Not something you learn about in your US history class.
It’s definitely a book for people who like the weird history of things, like the fact that ‘…satire and ridicule of a public personae were protected speech. For comedians, journalists, professional shit-slingers, cartoonists, writers, and artist of every stripe, it was a major First Amendment victory’ was because of a Hustler parody ad of Jerry Falwell. Not something you learn about in your US history class.
November 12, 2014
This is a solid account of the rise of Playboy, Penthouse, Hustler, and Screw—and the lives of their iconic founders—that also provides a sweeping social history of America as it was confronting changing social mores in the period between the 1950s and 70s, particularly on issues like sex and sexuality, of course, but also on gender roles and the fights over the boundaries of freedom of expression. The author, Mike Edison, has worked at a few of these magazines, so I found him to be a reliable guide into this world.
The book would’ve been even better had it simply focused on the founders without so many asides. Because Edison seems to want to give us a flavor of everything that was happening and all of the key figures of the time, we also get a lot of belabored tangents on various minor and major cartoonists working for the magazines, Lenny Bruce’s drug problems, Jayne Mansfield’s career, etc. that make a few portions of the book a chore to wade through because they seem to distract from the main points.
But that quibble aside, Edison writes in a smart, conversational way that makes this an engaging and smooth read. It’s raunchy and explicit, obviously, but that’s pretty much what you’d expect.
The book would’ve been even better had it simply focused on the founders without so many asides. Because Edison seems to want to give us a flavor of everything that was happening and all of the key figures of the time, we also get a lot of belabored tangents on various minor and major cartoonists working for the magazines, Lenny Bruce’s drug problems, Jayne Mansfield’s career, etc. that make a few portions of the book a chore to wade through because they seem to distract from the main points.
But that quibble aside, Edison writes in a smart, conversational way that makes this an engaging and smooth read. It’s raunchy and explicit, obviously, but that’s pretty much what you’d expect.
June 20, 2022
I really liked the first season of HBO's Minx, and I thought this book might provide some insight into the real-life inspiration of the show's sleazy publisher. I thought Edison's book might fit the bill. I suppose it did, to some degree, but despite the undeniable verve of Epstein's prose, I found it a slog. The loosely structured book chronicles the rises and falls of the men behind arguably America's 4 most iconic adult magazines, Hugh Hefner, Bob Guccione, Larry Flynt, and Al Goldstein (with a few sidebars on Lenny Bruce and others involved in obscenity debates). Edison admires Bruce hugely, and I think he intends to emulate Lenny's technique of using slurs (including in-group slurs) to provoke the audience into self-reflection; I would have frankly found this easier to stomach if the book was 3 or 4 decades old instead of just one. Edison acknowledges and grapples with to some degree the misogyny of the men he's writing about, and clearly sees himself as better than them – but the book is full of things that made me wince, like how women "claim" to have been assaulted, but mens' statements are described as factual. (There's a bibliography but no footnotes; Edison conducted a number of primary source interviews which presumably anchor some of the more outlandish statements. I hope at least half of the details of filming "Caligula" were exaggerated.) Edwards also has a tendency to describe his personal taste in erotica as if it is fact rather than opinion, which never sits well with me. In the end, maybe Edwards himself, who wrote for Goldstein's "Screw" as well as some of the varied emulators of "Hustler" and "Penthouse" is the person most like Jake Johnson's "Minx" character. He seems sure he's a "good guy," but I'm not convinced.
March 1, 2020
Interesting, filled with odd bits and conversations, like this; “BILL CLINTON COULD not possibly have imagined that a few fumbling blow jobs from a rich Jewish girl would grind the U.S. government to a halt. Nor could he have seen himself becoming the basis for a staggering piece of U.S. government–produced pornography, but then again, he didn’t think he would get caught, either.”
March 12, 2013
It's no secret that sex sells. What is less well known, however, is how it came to be (somewhat) accepted in the marketplace: that story is the one told in Dirty Dirty Dirty.
The book attempts to tell the story of the mainstreaming of porn in America through the history of four magazines: Playboy, Penthouse, Screw, and Hustler. Author Mike Edison traces the story of each magazine from its inception to its demise or current incarnation by following the lives of the men who founded them.
It is not a pretty story.
Unsurprisingly, the four men are far from heroic. Hefner is a naive square who couldn't get laid until he got rich. Guccione is a thug and gangster so wrapped up in his own obsessions that he squanders his wealth. Goldstein is a sarcastic, angry man, taken with the need to fight every battle he can find. Lastly, there is Larry Flynt, perhaps the only sympathetic man in the bunch and that largely because of his dedication to business and fighting for the First Amendment.
The stories then, full of violence, degradation, and excesses committed by men never lacking for hubris, arrogance, or excuses for their behavior, are sordid and uncompromising. They are far from flattering. One might hope that a book like this offers some redemption or some lessons learned, but there is little of that.
At the same time, the book takes pains to make clear that neither sex, nor the human body is what anyone should consider 'dirty'. Hell, even porn made by consenting adults is just fine. Any kind of porn is ok as long as all the participants know what they're getting into.
But what the book shows, through interview after story after anecdote, is that while the men who forced America to look at itself and decide what it wanted its sex life to be may have done a good thing, they did not do it through any sense of altruism or philanthropy. These men were after a profit, both financial and material, and would do whatever they could to get it. And, as we know, sex sells.
Edison knew these men; he was one of them for a while although he never achieved the lofty heights of mansions and private jets, and the book is filled with personal anecdotes and memories and quotes from interviews he conducted with those still living. His research can not be faulted, nor can his writing. It's merely that the source material is so, well, dirty.
The book attempts to tell the story of the mainstreaming of porn in America through the history of four magazines: Playboy, Penthouse, Screw, and Hustler. Author Mike Edison traces the story of each magazine from its inception to its demise or current incarnation by following the lives of the men who founded them.
It is not a pretty story.
Unsurprisingly, the four men are far from heroic. Hefner is a naive square who couldn't get laid until he got rich. Guccione is a thug and gangster so wrapped up in his own obsessions that he squanders his wealth. Goldstein is a sarcastic, angry man, taken with the need to fight every battle he can find. Lastly, there is Larry Flynt, perhaps the only sympathetic man in the bunch and that largely because of his dedication to business and fighting for the First Amendment.
The stories then, full of violence, degradation, and excesses committed by men never lacking for hubris, arrogance, or excuses for their behavior, are sordid and uncompromising. They are far from flattering. One might hope that a book like this offers some redemption or some lessons learned, but there is little of that.
At the same time, the book takes pains to make clear that neither sex, nor the human body is what anyone should consider 'dirty'. Hell, even porn made by consenting adults is just fine. Any kind of porn is ok as long as all the participants know what they're getting into.
But what the book shows, through interview after story after anecdote, is that while the men who forced America to look at itself and decide what it wanted its sex life to be may have done a good thing, they did not do it through any sense of altruism or philanthropy. These men were after a profit, both financial and material, and would do whatever they could to get it. And, as we know, sex sells.
Edison knew these men; he was one of them for a while although he never achieved the lofty heights of mansions and private jets, and the book is filled with personal anecdotes and memories and quotes from interviews he conducted with those still living. His research can not be faulted, nor can his writing. It's merely that the source material is so, well, dirty.
August 3, 2012
What made this book such a great book is the fact that Mike Edison is a fantastic writer. Not only does he know how to put words together in a great way but his writing style is a damn good time. There were so many moments in reading this book that I literally laughed out loud.
Mike spends the greatest amount of his time talking about Hugh Hefner. According to Mike Hugh Hefner was a sexually repressed, nerdy man who as a teenager always wanted the girl but the girl always passed him up for the jock. Mike believes that Hugh still carries this hidden frustration with him to this day. From Hugh he dives into other major players in the porn magazine industry such as Bob Guiccione, Larry Flynt, and Al Goldstein.
There have been a lot of books written about this sort of topic but none written quite like the way Mike wrote it. Even if you are only mildly interested in this topic pick this one up.
Mike spends the greatest amount of his time talking about Hugh Hefner. According to Mike Hugh Hefner was a sexually repressed, nerdy man who as a teenager always wanted the girl but the girl always passed him up for the jock. Mike believes that Hugh still carries this hidden frustration with him to this day. From Hugh he dives into other major players in the porn magazine industry such as Bob Guiccione, Larry Flynt, and Al Goldstein.
There have been a lot of books written about this sort of topic but none written quite like the way Mike wrote it. Even if you are only mildly interested in this topic pick this one up.
December 20, 2016
A smart and well researched chronicle of the history of print porn from Playboy to just before the Internet, Edison pays particular attention to the big four print publishers: Hefner, Guccionne, Flynt and Goldstein (with whom Edison has a fascinating insider's view). Essential for American Studies types. The topic doesn't even need Edison's characteristic energy and hilarity but gets it in spades. Published in 2011, I hear an updated edition's in the works.
July 12, 2012
Decent history of Playboy, Penthouse and the whole dirty magazine era. Was hoping for more smut really but got a good media history instead. Interesting look at the post-war media era from 1955-2000 and how it ended. Also funny that of the big 4 pornographers profiled (Hugh Hefner, Bob Guccione, Larry Flynt and Al Goldstein) that it's Flynt who has survived as a titan of business.
February 4, 2012
Part biography, part social history, with a little bit of rant. Whatever this is, it's an entertaining read.
January 10, 2013
It read more like a series of essays than a book. The tone was "loose" and with humor. Looking at his other work, he seems to name his books so they will have interesting spines. It was just ok.
March 13, 2013
I knew the basic bios of all four smutmeisters featured in this book but Edison puts them all in context in a unique, entertaining way. This is great pop-sociology and important history.
August 14, 2013
Love his
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews