THE PLAYMATE BOOK is a tastefully presented heavyweight coffee-table edition book which showcases every woman who appeared in PLAYBOY between 1954 (Marilyn Monroe) and 1996 (Victoria Silvstedt). The photographic quality is superb. The history of the magazine is well-documented. The book does skimp on many of the capsule biographies of the 512 beautiful women who grace these pages. The Playmates of the Year, perennial favorites such as Bettie Page and Pamela Anderson, famous Playmates such as Stella Stevens, and Playmates who met infamous ends (Jayne Mansfield, Claudia Jennings and Dorothy Stratten come to mind), are given far more coverage than the average, perhaps fairly so.
THE PLAYMATE BOOK brings humanity to these otherwise often anonymous pin-up girls, many of whom suffered social ostracism (particularly in the early days of the magazine) for daring to bare all, and shows the Playboy Playmates to be an eclectic and interesting group of women with widely divergent lifestyles. Some of their stories are wonderful, some are tragic, some involve jets, yachts and 'beautiful people' while others involve kids and picket fences. There is no one 'definitive' Playmate.
The book's greatest failing is its inability to bring it all together. More than just a "family album" THE PLAYMATE BOOK should be a social history of women over four decades, but sadly does not editorialize even briefly on "what it all means." It's a bad oversight on the part of the editors, and takes away from the finished product.
It's fun to see the evolution of the Centerfold over time, the changing styles, the increasing daring. It's also fun to find your favorite Playmate(s) and discover what she is/was doing (circa 1997). Hopefully, PLAYBOY will update this book periodically, and add new Playmates as they appear.