This was such a fun read, especially on the beach. While it’s certainly a high level overview, I left reading this book with a desire to know more about so many different things.

The chapters are short, but packed with information that Radke has assembled in a clear and logical way, giving the reader an understanding of the butt in popular culture (primarily in the US though I’d love a follow up that examines the butt in other places.) While
some of the info isn’t exactly new, Radke has a great lens to parse this info, exploring several tangents that all lead back to the butt. I was especially moved by her conclusion, as it was very personal and it helped to address some of my own personal feelings that arose while reading the book.

*This book was received as an Advanced Reviewer's Copy from NetGalley.

There are so many names for the butt. Derriere, tush; the list goes on and on. And why is that? Why is there such an obsession with butts, female butts in particular? Radke explores that question in this book; going through history for the standards and changes behind the butt.

Starting with the reason we have butts (something I never really thought of but was definitely interesting from an evolutionary perspective), to how butts are portrayed in the media today, this book ran the whole gamut. Also explored is how the perception of the butt affects racial divides (it was used as a marker for those who promoted eugenics), changing or impossible averages imposed on the "perfect" body shape, and other political and sociological issues.

Not to say that the book is entirely heavy matter. Radke has a great sense of humor and this especially shines through the first few chapters that are more historical in nature (even going so far as to compare to peacocks). But the book does justice to what some would think is a light-hearted topic by exploring how our standards and requirements can harm others.

A fascinating read and not your typical history book.

Review by M. Reynard 2022

I was so looking forward to reading this, just I found myself dreading it and forcing myself to continue on. Where I do feel I learned quite a bit, it was so overcast with unnecessary research and analysis that the main point of the book was lost.

First of all, I loved that title! It's very witty and intriguing. I enjoyed the new things I've learned while reading this book about butts and its reputation and place in the scientific world, pop culture, in different generations, and so much more. My only complaints is that sometimes it feels too technical and academic-like for my liking and it definitely did affect my reading pace.

BUTTS: A BACKSTORY is a historical and cultural account of the female butt. I don’t usually read books like this, but the description made it seem like there was going to be a lot of funny references and lots of pop cultural… and there was some, but (no pun intended)…

Unfortunately, it just wasn’t what I was expecting or wanting. It went on too long and it felt like a chore to finish. There were a few parts I found interesting, but they weren’t long enough, and then parts that were too much (ie, separate chapters for each of the celebrities with overly talked about “big butts” - J. Lo, Kim K., etc.) that were too long.

In the end, I was looking for something a little bit lighter and this just wasn’t it.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review this ARC.

Really, who isn’t at least a little curious to read a book about butts? Beginning with human anatomy and evolution, Heather Radke takes us on a journey from our ancestors beginning to walk upright and leading theories on why our butts are anatomically how they are, through to some of white people’s earliest examples of cultural appropriation, diet and fitness culture, and on to butts in modern day pop culture.

As someone who has not spent a huge amount of my life thinking about my butt or butts of too many other people, this book beautifully blends education, history, and some pop culture commentary into a book which keeps the topic and its subject interesting throughout.

I’m not really sure what I was expecting when I started, maybe a light hearted but informative read, however, Radke spends time diving into race and racism, sexual objectification, cultural appropriation, music, and society’s shaping of the ideal body. It was deeper and more informative and overall more interesting than I was honestly expecting.

In the few days since I’ve finished this book, I’ve found myself talking about and recommending it to several other people. We might smile at the fun cover and title, but it’s a story that will linger.

Thank you so much to Avid Reader Press for the ARC!

The human butt.... We have a complicated relationship with butts. We obsess over them, we admire them, we assess and critique them and are often complaining about our own while toning them and trying to make them attractive to others. But what is the butt really about?
Author Heather Radke explores some historical significance in some prominent human posteriors as well as how the butt has been transformed (psychologically, at least). We get some history on one of the first famous butts - that belonging to the Venus Hottentot (Sarah Bartmann) - to foot races between man and horse, to Miley Cyrus shaking her booty.

The first couple of chapters were really spot on with what I was expecting. We have a look at what, specifically, the human butt is designed for (as far as we can tell) - which is maybe a little surprising to a lot of us. The race between human and horse was fascinating (it's tied in to the purpose of the human butt) and I really enjoyed the look back (pun intended) at how man (meaning both man and mankind) has had a bit of an obsession with the appearance of the butt and how clothing styles (specifically women's styles) have emphasized the backside.

In this way, the first four chapters of the book (there are seven chapters) hold some interest, mostly from a historical point of view. But as we get to the more pop era, starting with the popular "Buns of Steel" phenomenon in the late 1980's, the book loses steam.

Author Heather Radke spends less time looking at the significance of the butt from either a historical or social aspect to more time informing the reader about specific people who for one reason or another are famous for the their butts. Kate Moss, Jennifer Lopez, Beyoncé Knowles, Kim Kardashian, Miley Cyrus, as well as those whose names aren't quite so familiar but they faces (or butts) were once recognizable because of exercise videos that had become highly popular at the time.

These last three chapters take this book from being a respectable history and social commentary to a People magazine-like, name-dropping, superficial look at pop icons. This is really disappointing. These chapters aren't a 'cultural history of the female butt' as the advertising copy for the books reads, but rather a look at a couple of specific women.

Looking for a good book? Butts: A Backstory by Heather Radke starts out with some nice research and a solid historic and cultural look at the human butt but it devolves into a superficial look at a few pop culture icons noted for their prominent backsides.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Much like the author notes in her acknowledgements I picked this one up as a joke amongst friends based on the title and cover alone. I read this one in bits and pieces over a few weeks and found myself marking so many quotes and pages. It's one that I have shared tidbits of learned information in multiple conversations. Basically I surprised myself by enjoying this one as much as I did.

I was so excited when I saw this book because microhistories are my favorite sub genre of nonfiction, and a microhistory about BUTTS had to take the cake (pun intended).

This was even better than I expected because it approached the topic from angles of particular interest to me: race and gender. Radke focuses almost entirely on the scientific and cultural history of butts (clarified as “the cheeks and not the hole” by the author). The book takes a linear approach starting with an anatomical look at our bone structure , muscle, and fat that create the uniquely human butt (answering the question, “why do we even have a butt?”). The subsequent chapters cover the colonizing practice of othering and sexualizing Black women’s butts, 1800’s fashion with the the inclusion of the bustle, the size changes of the ideal butt that occur throughout history, the impact of standardized clothing sizes on women’s bodies, fitness culture, Sir Mix a Lot, Kate Moss, Jennifer Lopez, Kim Kardashian, Miley Cyrus, twerking, and more. Race is a prevalent theme throughout, examining the hypersexualization of Black women’s bodies and popular culture’s exoticizing, appropriation, criticism, and exploitation of those bodies.

The structure of this book, once I grasped it, made for easy reading with relatively short chapters and a tight narrative style. Sometimes I find nonfiction like this, especially with first person anecdotes from the author to personalize the narrative, can lean towards bloated paragraphs (“look! I did all this research and I have to see that!”). But Radke generally keeps the academic-y details palatable and wrapped up her discussions of each topic before I found myself bored. Though there are a few footnotes in each chapter, most of the footnotes are found at the end — the last 20% of the books is footnotes. Especially once she hit the 20th century I found myself really enjoying learning about the topic.

Though I read this one as an e-book, I do think this would make and EXCELLENT audiobook. I would have read it in that format were it available and highly recommend seeking their format if this content interests you.

One think missing that would be immensely helpful would have been a link or file with related videos and images, as much of the references were highly visual. It would have been lovely to see images of Sarah Baartman, bustles, and Kim Kardashian’s infamous champagne-glass-on-her-butt photos for Paper magazine. It would have been helpful to see clips from the Buns of Steel videos or Miley Cyrus’s twerking debacle at the VMAs.

If the topic of butts approached historically and examined culturally appeals to you, I definitely recommend checking this one out when it releases in November 2022!

(Note: Thank you to Simon & Schuster for the early review copy of this book!)

A fun, occasionally cheeky read. Radke skillfully blends science, history and anthropology together in her exploration that stemmed from her own extremely relatable issues with body image. Many of the arms of this examination could have spawned their own books, and I found the more recent material to become a bit repetitive, but overall this is an entertaining book with plenty of useful, fascinating information.

In “Butts: a Back Story,” Heather Radke takes us on a journey through historical to modern attitudes, depictions, and trends as they relate to the female form. A great deal of the book is devoted to race, from the historical fetishization to the modern appropriation of Black bodies and cultures. I did feel that some chapters, particularly the ones that covered the historical aspects of the topic, were more padded out than necessary - some pun intended. I was most often struck by the thought that the majority of the book could as easily be titled “Bodies,” less than specifically “Butts.” Which is fine!, and still makes for an interesting topic, although it felt a little bit like a bait and switch, since the title and cover art were what initially captured my interest. Later chapters that discussed more modern trends and attitudes both felt better paced and also more focused on the promised titular butts!
All in all, I think that it’s a compelling premise, and certainly well-researched. I’m just not convinced that the content had to be a book; the sections felt like they’d have been well suited as long form magazine content. I would recommend “Butts: a Back Story” to people who are interested in topics related to race relations, historical racism, and to a lesser extent, the modern commodification of women’s bodies.

I found the book did a great job of blending science with history. There were opportunities to laugh and other moments where I wanted to read more into the papers Radke cites.

This book hooked me big time. It had a fantastic, compelling through line with tons of specific, fun stories the whole way through. I can't wait to spread the word about this one!

It wasn't as in depth or quirky as I expected (re: compared to Mary Roach), but I still enjoyed it. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC. It focussed more on fashion than I expected, and didn't really examine women's butts from a global perspective (it felt very American in scope).

Interesting and strange subject but how fascinating! The only drawback I can think of is that it would benefit from some illustration (at least my digital review copy did not have any). I'm drawn more and more to non-fiction these days and this was a great read.
Thanks to the publisher for a review copy.

Really enjoyed this book and as a non-fiction book, it captured my attention and kept it the entire way. The book gives a sort of cultural history of butts and discusses where ideas and prejudices about butts comes from.
It discusses how 'big' butts are associated with Blackness and the hyper sexualization of Black women, which contributes to our society's perception of butts and butt size and its connotations today. Obviously with discussions of Blackness comes with talking about cultural appropriation. Radke does a great job of describing what cultural appropriation is (somehow there are still arguments that cultural appropriation doesn't exist) and how it is manifested in society's shift in perception of butts and who is responsible for it. Ultimately, it is a really great resource to learn about how this is one of the many ways that the politics of bodies is connected to the politics of race and gender.

4.5: I really, really enjoyed this. The blend of science, history, and anthropology was a very good choice, as it really captured a wide variety of lenses through which to examine Western views on women's butts. I definitely learned some new stuff, but it was also an opportunity for me to return to some topics I haven't thought about in ages. I haven't extensively thought about the cultural impact of Sarah Baartman's legacy since my Intro WMST class in undergrad, and I was grateful to review it. I do think the first half of this was a tad stronger than the second. Radke had more strength in expressing her ideas from a historical perspective in more unique ways. Once we moved into more contemporary times, each of the chapters felt a bit like reiterations of each other. While I got a lot out of the messages being conveyed, it was a little same-y. Also, I did like the inclusion of memoir-like anecdotes sprinkled throughout the text. It made it very relatable (to an already extraordinarily relatable read) and I appreciated seeing how this topic came to be something that Radke wanted to write about and how her research impacted her post-book. Overall, this is very readable, the best kind of pop nonfic, and I'd highly recommend it.

This nonfiction book is a comprehensive history of the beauty of butts in popular western culture. Much of the early history of human fascination with butts begins with a lengthy discussion of Sarah Baartman, an African woman who was brought against her will to England and paraded in front of the public, displaying her enormous butt. This section of the book is well researched, thoughtful, and informative. Further discussion of corsets, bustles, and thin flapper figures are also well researched and thoughtful.

The author's discussion of more contemporary views of what makes a great female butt seemed rather biased to me. In the author's world, black women have big butts, white women have small butts, and it's perfectly fine to be grossly overweight. As a white woman with a big butt, who wants to be slender and healthy, and genuinely enjoys a good, sweaty workout, this portion of the book came across as a bit too stereotyped to me. I did appreciate her inclusion of JLo, Beyonce, Miley, and Kim and their roles in the current celebration of curvy behinds. Perhaps it's too soon to discuss contemporary trends in an historical context, but this section did not seem as thoughtful as the first part of the book.

Butts: A backstory is about the scientific and cultural history of the butt. The female butt. Our butt is a strange area which some love and some hate. It has been forever sexualized, objectified, assessed, and criticized.

The author has focused on the history of the butt, both past and present. Nearly two centuries is written about the butt in this book, and it’s both fascinating and strange to read about.

I myself have to admit that the butt is something I like to look at, especially if it’s a person I really like. After reading this, it’s so strange to think that butt’s are generally just fat. And I like butts. It also surprised me because the book wasn’t how I thought it would be. But that’s a positive surprise.

You also get to read the story behind the famous catchphrase “buns of steel”, and people like Jennifer Lopez and Miley Cyrus. Also, further back like Sarah Bartmann, once known as “Venus of Hottentot.” So I found this book to be interesting and disturbing to read. The latter, Sarah Bartmann, was so creepy to read, and she should’ve been put to rest after her death. The history in this book taught me stuff I didn’t know. And I’m a huge history fan.

So if you are curious about the history of butts, or are a history fan, I hope you’ll enjoy reading this as much as I did.

Happy reading!♥️

Heather Radke's Butts: A Backstory is a fascinating look at the history of women's posteriors, from ancient times to modern pop culture. This book is part social science, part memoir, as Radke recalls her evolving relationship with her own body, given the barrage of messages from doctors to Jennifer Lopez. A very readable title that will appeal to readers who enjoy microhistory, feminist issues, and memoirs.