Sexplosion: From Andy Warhol to A Clockwork Orange-- How a Generation of Pop Rebels Broke All the Taboos Hardcover – 27 Feb 2014

Review

Dizzying in its magnitude and impact . . . Hofler describes in often strong language and with considerable wit what was unmistakably a new cultural reality and moral perspective in America and Britain . . . (Booklist (starred review))

Lively [and] unapologetically profane . . . Hofler covers pop-culture figures and their creations with an expert’s depth of knowledge . . . resulting in a delightful journey through a short-lived but influential period (Publishers Weekly (starred review))

Fun, fascinating examination of the moment when American and British culture seemed to lose all inhibitions . . . Readers will marvel over the ideological distance traveled since those years . . . Sparkling history of an artistically spirited age. (Kirkus Reviews)

So vivid it’s like reliving the times, Robert Hofler’s Sexplosion seamlessly illuminates in fast-paced detail the tumultuous era in which American culture finally lost its virginity. His impressive research and authoritative voice make for a !*&%#@! good read. (Stephen M. Silverman, author Dancing on the Ceiling: Stanley Donen and His Movies)

Sexplosion is a multifaceted gem-a close examination of the intersection of sex, politics, and the arts that is also a thrilling cultural history. It is an original and provocative look at the backstage scenes of America’s theaters, studios, and clubs, where artists were demolishing inhibitions and transforming our lives. (Bob Spitz, author of Dearie: The Remarkable Life of Julia Child)

“Rich, funny, and comprehensive, Sexplosion takes you inside the tumultuous, energizing years of 1968 to 1973, when artists, filmmakers, and writers defied authority and challenged every taboo to create a sexual revolution that reverberates to this day. This is a superb evocation of an era.” (Patricia Bosworth, author of Jane Fonda: The Private Life of a Public Woman)

Sexplosion is a witty, insightful ride through the most entertaining period in American pop culture, the late 1960’s, when saying bad words and shedding one’s clothes in public were controversial and, in some circles, heroic acts. (—Ron Nyswaner, screenwriter of Philadelphia and The Painted Veil)

A thoroughly enjoyable romp through a five year explosion of taboo busting, sexually adventurous entertainment. Robert Hofler pays tribute to the trailblazing artists who paved the way for the freedom on screen that we take for granted today. (Jeffrey Schwarz, director of I AM DIVINE and VITO)

Fascinating. (L.A. Weekly)

A bona fide page-turner . . . Fascinating, funny, and thorough . . . Sexplosion tells the story of the people who made our current enlightenment possible. (LitReactor)

Eye-opening . . . a 327-page time machine trip back to a pivotal moment in modern pop history. (Connecticut Post)

That most rare of histories: as fun as it is fascinating. (Bookgasm)

“…a provocative romp through the culture wars and the transformation in America’s sexual politics…” (Wall Street Journal)

Written by a true pop culture connoisseur…..like a long, three-martini lunch with a chatty acquaintance who knows the studio-lot scuttlebutt and isn’t afraid to share it. (Washington Post)

A compelling historical look at the avant-garde art scene of the late 1960s and early 1970s, the set that broke taboos about what art could and couldn’t say about sex. Hofler doesn’t hold back….And lurid details make for a compelling read. (GQ)

Like Easy Riders, Raging Bulls, Peter Biskind’s study of the New Hollywood, Sexplosion deftly weaves a path through the friendships and collaborations which created common ground…. Above all, he amasses one unforgettable vignette after another. (The Independent)

Richly detailed, entertaining study of film and theatre’s sex boom in the late 1960s and early 1970s. (Sunday Times (London))

Compulsively readable …Sexplosion, with energetic glee, details how between 1968 and 1973 rebellious artists …proceeded to annihilate the mostly hypocritical censorship standards. (Boston Herald)

Sexplosion stands as an engrossing chronicle of artistic expansion…. If your guilty-pleasure tastes run toward showbiz gossip, note that this book is pretty delicious. (Financial Review (Australia))

Hofler captures the arc of a generation that got drunk on pop liberation and woke up a little hung over….a parade of scandals. (New York Times Book Review)

Robert Hofler knows this topic better than anyone. Sexplosion is a well received study of the fiery, liberating culture that seized audiences from 1968 to ‘73….So take off your 3D glasses and let’s dance into the time tunnel of social tumult and other earthly delights. (Micahel Musto, Out)

About the Author

Robert Hofler has spent more than forty years as an entertainment journalist, having worked as entertainment editor of Life and executive editor of Us magazine, and most recently at Variety, where he was a theater reporter and senior editor for fifteen years. His nonfiction works include the Henry Willson biography, The Man Who Invented Rock Hudson, Variety's "The Movie That Changed My Life," and Party Animals, a biography of Allan Carr. Hofler is the theater critic for The Wrap and lives in New York City.