Tom of Finland: His Life and Times

Popular gay artist Tom of Finland, born Touko Laaksonen (1920-1991), drew ``big, uncomplicated, physically oriented men.'' His ultra-manly hardhats, cops, lumberjacks, leather-clad bikers, cowboys, laborers, soldiers and sailors are idealized types, rugged, dashing men who seem ready for pleasure. This straightforward biography whose candor matches the sexual explicitness of Tom of Finland's art is illustrated with 60 of his drawings and 35 photographs of his friends and family. Hooven, a Finnish writer, charts Tom's bravery as a young lieutenant defending his country against Stalin's troops, his discovery of public gay life in postwar Finland, his travels through the gay underworlds of England and Germany, and his frequent trips to the U.S. (Sept.)