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Gay Talese

Gay Talese Books

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“Lawrence probes the sensitivity and psychological detachment that man often feels towards his penis -- it does indeed seem to have a will of its own, an ego beyond its size, and is frequently embarrassing because of its needs, infatuations, and unpredictable nature. Men sometimes feel that their penis controls *them*, leads them astray, causes them to beg favors at night from women whose names they prefer to forget in the morning. Whether insatiable or insecure, it demands constant proof of its potency, introducing into a man's life unwanted complications and frequent rejection. Sensitive but resilient, equally available during the day or night with a minimum of coaxing, it has performed purposefully if not always skillfully for an eternity of centuries, endlessly searching, sensing, expanding, probing, penetrating, throbbing, wilting, and wanting more. Never concealing its prurient interest, it is a man's most honest organ.”

HonestyPenis
Book:Thy Neighbor's Wife: A Chronicle of American Permissiveness Before the Age of AIDS
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“Most journalists are restless voyeurs who see the warts on the world, the imperfections in people and places. . . . gloom is their game, the spectacle their passion, normality their nemesis.”

PeopleWorldPassionGamesJournalistImperfectionRestlessGloomNormalityNemesisWarts
Book:The Kingdom and the Power: Behind the Scenes at The New York Times: The Institution That Influences the World
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“Wall Street bankers supposedly back the Yankees; Smith College girls approve of them. God, Brooks Brothers, and United States Steel are believed to be solidly in the Yankees' corner... The efficiently triumphant Yankee maching is a great institution, but, as they say, who can fall in love with U.S. Steel?”

StatesFallGirlUnitedUnited StatesStreetsCollegeBrotherWallBaseballInstitutionsFalling In LoveCornersSteelYankeesBankersBrooksNew York YankeesTriumphantBrooks BrothersCollege Girl
Author:Gay Talese
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“Unlike the millions who casually masturbate in solitude while looking at girlie pictures in Playboy and similar magazines, the massage man preferred an accomplice, an attendant lady of respectable appearance who would help him reduce the guilt and loneliness of this most lonely act of love.”

MenLoveHelpingAgeMillionsLonelinessSolitudeLonelyGuiltAppearanceMagazinesRespectableMassagePlayboyActs Of LoveAccomplices
Book:Thy Neighbor's Wife
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“Many male habitues of massage parlors, like Talese, did not like solitary masturbation; in the parlance of the younger generation, it was a "downer." And yet to be masturbated by an appealing masseuse, to be in the physical presence of a woman with whom there was some communication and understanding, if not love, was gratifying and fun.”

IfsLoveAgeFunUnderstandingGenerationsCommunicationMalesSolitaryMasturbationMassageYounger GenerationParlorDowners
Author:Gay Talese
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“He believed that all people existed behind varying layers of armor which, like the archaeological layers of earth itself, reflected the historical events and turbulence of a lifetime. An individual's armor that had been developed to resist pain and rejection might also block a capacity for pleasure and achievement, and feelings too deeply trapped might be released only by acts of self-destruction or harm to others. Reich was convinced that sexual deprivation and frustration motivated much of the world's chaos and warfare.”

PeopleWorldSelfFeelingsMightEarthPainIndividualPleasureBehindsEventsAchievementCapacityDestructionHistoricalLifetimeChaosHarmConvincedBlockRejectionFrustrationMotivatedLayersTrappedWarfareArmorSelf DestructionDeprivationTurbulenceHistorical Events
Author:Gay Talese
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