A Brief History of Nakedness

Now in B-format paperback, A Brief History of Nakedness traces our preoccupation with nudity in religion, politics and popular culture. Rather than study the history of the fine-art nude, for example, this book explores new territory – revealing the ways in which religious teachers, politicians, protestors and cultural icons have used nudity to enlighten or empower themselves, or simply to entertain us. From the naked sages of India and St Francis of Assisi to modern-day druids and Christian nudists, from The Full Monty and Calendar Girls to Lady Godiva and Lady Gaga, A Brief History of Nakedness surveys the touching, sometimes tragic, and often bizarre story of our relationship with our own and with others’ naked bodies.