A lively, wide-ranging visual history of muscular men from around the world.

Over the last 100 years, the image of the muscular man has known no boundaries; it has been the object of envy, admiration, and desire, and used to convey optimal health and fitness, product appeal, political power, and military might. Universal Hunks, David L. Chapman's follow-up to American Hunks, is a captivating collection of historical images of muscular men from around the world beginning in the 19th century up until the 1970s, including photographs, posters, advertisements, magazine and comic book covers, and product packaging. The book considers the eroticized, politicized, and commercialized male image through history, and evaluates its fascinating cultural context by country and continent; culled from the author's personal collections, it includes materials never published before, including images of Asian bodybuilders, European comic-book superheroes, African tribesmen, and muscleman posters from the Soviet Union. The book also includes a foreword by cultural and sports historian Douglas Brown.

Full-color throughout, Universal Hunks is a thought-provoking and sexy visual tour of musclemen from all parts of the globe.

David L. Chapman is the author of twelve books on male photography and bodybuilding, including American Hunks (Arsenal, 2009), Comin” at Ya!: The Homoerotic 3D Photographs of Denny Denfield (Arsenal, 2007), Adonis: The Male Physique Pin-up, and two other books on Denny Denfield. He lives in Seattle.

David L. Chapman's profile page

Douglas Brown is a cultural historian with a keen interest in early modern sport (19th and 20th centuries). He is an associate professor in the Faculty of Kinesiology at the University of Calgary.

Douglas Brown's profile page

Light, smart, breezy, and very sexy.
-ION Magazine

ION Magazine

A fun, attractive book full of musclemen.
-The Stranger

The Stranger

A fascinating work, wonderfully illustrated.
-Fugues Magazine

Fugues

A captivating visual tour.
-The Advocate

The Advocate

As substantial as it is salacious. . . showing us men with a wide range of skin tones and facial features, but also provokes readers to think about their commonalities.
-Passport Magazine

Passport

Universal Hunks highlights diverse historical contexts in a global sweep, to bring under one cover a better understanding of the diversity of cultures and traditions as regards the art of the physique. And it nails right on the head the very thing that draws us to the art of the physique and its practitioners ... [An] ethnographic feast.
-Bay Area Reporter

Bay Area Reporter

Authors David L. Chapman and Douglas Brown trace the origins of the sculpted, nearly nude, or totally bare male silhouette across the globe.
-The Atlantic

The Atlantic

Chapman has amassed a vast collection of fascinating, humorous and alluring "hunk" ephemera from around the globe.
-EDGE Publications

EDGE

Filled with delightful historical photographs of body builders from the late 19th century to the mid-20th century, Universal Hunks does not fail to deliver exactly what its title suggests. Every page is full of photographs, advertisements, and even propaganda posters featuring muscle men throughout the world and history. Hunks is definitely a feast for the eyes. -American Library Association GLBT Reviews

ALA GLBT Reviews