Voluptuous Panic: The Erotic World of Weimar Berlin (Expanded Edition)

There's an apocryphal story about David Bowie meeting Christopher Isherwood, author of "Berlin Stories." Bowie said something to the effect that it must have been exciting to be in Weimar Germany during the Roaring Twenties, what with the tycoons, transvestites, and spies all rubbing shoulders. At this point Isherwood felt compelled to let the relatively younger man know that he was a writer of fiction, and that the Weimar that fed his adventurous stories was very much fabricated.The point of this anecdote is to highlight how elusive the reality of any bygone era is at a certain remove, and to further point out that Mel Gordon does the reader interested in the real history of Weimar a bit of a disservice by (by his own admission) ignoring anything that doesn't serve his sensationalist agenda. "Eroticism" is a subjective term, and while I didn't object to the S & M/ gender play content (or even the urolagnia/coprophagia), the sexualization of children glorified in the book (even if Gordon would deny this was his intent) was a bit much too stomach.Taken in the right spirit, as something in the same vein as Kenneth Anger's "Hollywood Babylon," which is to say a kind of salacious bit of tabloid-style light reading, the book really isn't half bad. Some of the photos, flyers, and bits of artwork are essential Weimar memorabilia that help give the reader insight into Germany's ill-fated experiment with democracy in the post-Wilhelmine era. But those of a more scholarly bent beware: there is a bibliography, but no sources, and when I attempted to find external corroboration of many of the assertions in the book, the only results I got online led me right back to this book. That's a red flag right there. Tepid recommendation.

This fantastic, one of a kind book is living proof that the hippies didn't invent drugs, sex, and artistic freedom. In fact, the hippies seem much more dated and silly than the denizens of the Weimar Republic, who embraced a lifestyle as artful and libertine as it was impoverished. How incredibly sad to realize that this enlightened culture was soon to be utterly decimated by the Nazis in only a few years. Weimar was an artistic statement in itself but could not sustain itself against a juggernaut of evil hellbent on the destruction of anything different from itself.Voluptuous Panic helped me to realize that in a past life I was an exuberant, creative student at the Bauhaus by day, and a cocaine and opium addicted sex fiend by night - at least I long for it to be true. Perhaps in the next life I can go back to where I truly belong. After all, life is a cabaret my friend.

This is an excellent book if you want to get a sense of the decadent side of Weimar Culture. I don't know of any other book that discusses this side of Germany between the wars in such detail. There is Peter Gay's book which is fine, but it has an entirely different focus. There are lots of pictures. If you have an interest in gender relations, nudism, eroticism in the arts or hedonism, this book will be of interest. Between WW1 and 2, Germany and in particular Berlin, was the sex capital of the world. This book points out the many prescient features of the clubs. If you don't know already, you may be surprised to learn that naturism, nudism, homeopathy, the hippie movement, body culture all started in Germany. The German culture has had a huge effect on the world and this book focuses on one aspect of it.If you liked this, you may also find the following of interest: The Seven Addictions and Five Professions of Anita Berber: Weimar Berlin's Priestess of Depravity, Naked Germany: Health, Race and the Nation and Empire of Ecstasy: Nudity and Movement in German Body Culture, 1910-1935.(I used this book for research I'm doing for a novel I'm writing.) The back of the book categorizes it under Popular Culture, Art History and Gender Studies. The book discusses homosexuality and nudism quite a bit, so if those topics interest you, then this book might be of interest.

My only dislike was the writer didn't do much to distinguish between sex work and sex trafficking. Those two shouldn't be lumped together as one is a person willingly going into sex work and the other is someone being forced into it.

I really love this book, and I think that it is a must read for anyone interested in Weimar Berlin or erotic entertainment. The only reason I didn't give it five stars was that the format of the e-book was a little messed up. To be honest, though, this doesn't surprise me as it is published by Feral House, which is one of the less scrupulous independent publishers.

The vision of Weimar Berlin as a bastion of decadence in increasingly Nazi-fied Germany is perhaps due in large part to our familiarity with the musical "Cabaret" or with Isherwood's "Berlin Stories." But in fact, the available documentation for that vision has been pretty slim until recently.Mel Gordon has spent years assembling the material he shares in this amazing book. Be warned; this is not a pleasant book to read. The images can be disturbing or downright upsetting, and the information therein is similarly unsettling. It is, however, an invaluable resource for any student of the period as it makes available material that has simply not been widely seen outside of Germany.If you are as fascinated as I am with the period between the wars, this book is a must-have. It gives depth to the glossy, Hollywood version of Berlin decadence, and shows it to be born as much out of poverty and hopelessness as out of the free expression of sexuality/sensuality. And please do take quite seriously the warning: This book is NOT for the faint of heart.

A rare visual cataloguing of the sensational show that was the Weimar Republic in Berlin. Thanks for letting me know about it, Amazon!

I bought Voluptuous Panic while writing an essay on cabaret and dance in the Weimar Republic. It's style, much like the subject matter is unconventional and utterly fascinating. This is a book full of intrigue and less usual reference that prompted new lines of enquiry and connections to develop within my research. Well produced full of great visuals. Having completed my essay and studies on Weimar Culture I could easily be tempted to part my copy of VP but I'll definitely keep in for reference and conversation. Mel Gordon is clearly a good author to look out for.

Historic

fascinating!!

A fascinatig outlook to the less studied and descprited Berlin Weimar era. A stimulating reading. And very vividly portayed. Also a festival of bizzarre about the Babylon on the Spree

bien qu'en anglais, le livre est très illustré et l'anglais assez facile à comprendre , cela ne gêne donc pas trop pour la lecture.c'est aussi un joli livre à contempler, la mise en page est particulière mais va bien avec le sujet. On aurait peut-être aimé en savoir plus sur l'évolution de cette époque de tolérance à l'arrivée au pouvoir des nazis? On connait le dénouement mais qu'en est-il de la période intermédiaire ?Une traduction en français serait l'idéal. Ce livre est à rapprocher du livre de Gilles Bardebette "Paris gay 1925" qui apparemment a été réédité en 1998.J'ai une édition plus ancienne, le contenu est érudit et ne manque pas d'humour, en revanche les illustrations sont beaucoup moins nombreuses et évoquent principalement le milieu gay masculin.Plus récemment est paru lLe livre de François Buot "Gay Paris: Une histoire du Paris interlope entre 1900 et 1940", il est clair que l'auteur s'est beaucoup servi du livre de son prédécesseur, je dirais presque pillé son prédécesseur car malgré le titre, l'ouvrage évoque plus particulièrement sur la même époque que le livre de Gilles Bardebette à qui je rend un hommage ému car hélas posthume