Member Reviews
Reviewer 370316
This book was a slightly funny, yet extremely outdated material. I would read it when I needed something light and amusing to entertain me. I've read other Whitman books this was the oddest by far.
Kris K, Reviewer
(I received an ARC from the NETGALLEY)
RATING: 4 STARS
"Walt Whitman was the epitome of a 19th-century American gentleman--a poet, journalist, essayist, and the father of free verse--whose legacy lives on to this day. He also had strong opinions about the manly arts of grooming, dress, working out, and health science: in 1858, under a pseudonym, Whitman wrote a nearly 50,000-word journalistic series entitled "Manly Health and Training," which wasn't known to be his work for the past 150 years. In the series, Whitman outlines how to achieve "a perfect body, a perfect blood," and dispenses advice on sports, footwear, bathing, women, alcohol, shaving, food, dancing, mental health, and more." (From Publisher)
When I first saw this title for grabs on NetGalley, I wasn't quite sure if this was a "humour" book or serious. It appears a bit of both...Whitman's advice on what he thinks a man should be. It was interesting to know that in his time he actually wrote about his opinions on health and training. It is said he wrote this under a pseudonym. I really enjoyed perusing this book - hipster pictures to go along with 19th Century thinking, or is it? This would make a fun gift for the man in your life and if you are interested in Whitman, like I am.
