Butts

"Engaging, personal. . . . don't be fooled by the cheeky peach emoji." The New York Times Book Review "Winning, cheeky, and illuminating. . . . What appears initially as a folly with a look-at-this cover and title becomes, thanks to Radke's intelligence and curiosity, something much meatier, entertaining, and wise. . . . Radke is an eager, inventive reporter...[and] an engaging storyteller." The Washington Post This crackling cultural history melds scholarship and pop culture to arrive at a comprehensive taxonomy of the female bottom. Radke leaves no stone unturned Lively and thorough, Butts is the best kind of nonfictionthe kind that forces you to see something ordinary through completely new eyes. Esquire, Best Books of 2022 Deeply reported and wildly entertaining Radke takes readers through an absorbing cultural history that asks how this human body part came to be on the receiving end of so much attention. TIME, 100 Must-Read Books of 2022 It is one of the most fascinating books Ive ever read. I could go on and on and on about it. . . . It's astounding to me, the stuff that I learned." Liberty Hardy, BookRiot's All the Books Podcast Butts: A Backstory traces a complicated fascination from Empire-era spectacle to MTV. . . A contoured yet amply scaled study. Vanity Fair An ambitious mash-up of pop culture, science, and history, this breakout debut from Radiolab reporter Radke tracks the evolution of attitudes toward womens butts from the Hottentot Venus to Miley Cyrus. Along the way, Radke delves into eugenics, hip-hop aesthetics, the physiology of posteriors, and more. It adds up to one of the years most ingenious and eye-opening cultural studies. Publishers Weekly, Best Books of 2022 By all rights, this could have been an asinine bathroom book, full of paper-thin factoids and cheeky humor, but Heather Radke has a brain that just wont quit. A funny and studious storyteller, the Radiolab reporter leads us on an eye-opening journey that starts in Kenya 1.9 million years ago, where 'the first known hominid with a butt' enters the fossil record, and marches through centuries of changing art, fashion, and cultural norms to the modern era where the dreams of Sir Mix-a-Lot are finally being realized. But what is a butt, biologically speaking? And how did it become such a hot-button issue in conversations about race, gender, and class? The butt, as it turns out, occupies a prominent space in the human story even though, as Radke points out, we rarely get a good look at our own. The Philadelphia Inquirer Fascinating and frank [with] top- notch reportage, assured and respectful voice and invitation to butt-centric contemplation [Radke] guides readers on an impressively well-researched tour of butts throughout history, beginning with a functional analysis (hominids and horses take center stage) and ultimately alighting in the present (twerking, social media and celebrity butts). BookPage (starred review) Radke thoughtfully, and without judgment, addresses the complexities and contradictions that this body part evokes and delves into some surprising topics that may spark further curiosity in readers. Her captivating writing and witty approach to a taboo topic will appeal to a variety of nonfiction readers, particularly those interested in cultural history and gender studies. . . A fun, fascinating, and surprisingly empowering exploration of the history and cultural significance of the butt. Library Journal (starred review) Whip-smart. . . Marked by Radkes vivacious writing, candid self-reflections, and sophisticated cultural analyses, this is an essential study of ideas and prejudices about the female body. Publishers Weekly (starred review) Heather Radkes social history of female butts promises to be a

Heather Radke is an essayist, journalist, and contributing editor and reporter at Radiolab, the Peabody Awardwinning program from WNYC. She has written for publications including The Believer, Longreads, and The Paris Review, and she teaches at Columbia Universitys creative writing MFA Program. Before becoming a writer, Heather worked as a curator at the Jane Addams Hull-House Museum in Chicago.