Welcome to Paradis

Paradis, on the other hand, is definitely intended for guys, the ascot-wearing men of the world whom Playboy at least nominally targets. It plays this card almost to the point of parody, down to such men's-magazine standards as a loving photo essay on handguns and a pop-history piece with gory illustrations that look like something out of the magazine Argosy, circa 1959. You begin to wonder whether some mandarin level of irony might be involved. The nudie spreads here are many and varied. Some are tame and some are a bit wilder; all, in some measure, make claims to art. You have your classic Edward Weston-style nudes, your darkly brooding Nan Goldin-style nudes, your provocative and slightly grotesque Helmut Newton-style nudes, and, well, your creamy, dewy, sun-dappled, narcotized David Hamilton-style nudes. To all appearances, it's a nudie book for men with a certain amount of education and a lot of money.