Books by Paul LeValley         Paul LeValley


contact information
3210 Ligustrum Lane
Kissimmee, FL 34746

(407) 449-0574

paullevalley@peoplepc.com

School web site (including biography)
paullevalley.com/school

Genealogy web site
http://www.paullevalley.com/Genealogy/index.html

Professors & Researchers SIG web site
tnsprofessorsig.org



Lalique--Day and NightArt Follows Nature: A Worldwide History of the Nude.  Berkeley: Edition One Books, 2016.  572 p. hardbound signed and numbered edition of 500.  $70.00 includes postage.

More than twenty years in the making, these chapters have appeared as a regular column in Naturally magazine.  Some faithful readers have called the author one of the greatest art historians living today.  This is the first history of the nude from a nudist perspective.  It is the first in full color.  And it is the first to include the whole world; it is especially remarkable for its strong coverage of India and other non-Western civilizations.  Look at the illustrated table of contents, and read sample pages.

Art books are expensive; so is this one.  But think of it this way: At 572 pages with more than 700 full-color illustrations, you are getting 10 beautiful nude pictures for a dollar.  Where else can you find a bargain like this?  The book comes in a hardbound signed and numbered limited edition of only 500 copies.  So order yours quickly.  Order form

You can also listen to a 40-minute interview with a reviewer.

Here are the back cover blurbs:

TWENTY YEARS IN THE MAKING

For more than two decades, Paul LeValley delighted readers of Naturally magazine with his series on the nude in art history—the longest-running column in the history of the American naturist press.  Now, for the first time, they are all gathered together, with many additional artworks added.

SCHOLARLY YET FASCINATING

Thoroughly researched, the pages bristle with fresh examples and lively commentary.

NO OTHER BOOK LIKE IT

Only a few great books have been written on the nude in art.  This is the first comprehensive one in color—more than 700 illustrations.  And this is the first book on the topic written from a naturist perspective.

THOROUGHLY ORIGINAL

Paul LeValley thinks for himself.  Not only does he introduce us to lots of beautiful yet unfamiliar artworks, but he also explains how they fit into the world and time in which they were created.  These works still resonate today.

THE WHOLE WORLD IS INCLUDED

Learn about the art and culture of Egypt, India, China, Greece, the Middle East, American Indians, and Africa—plus every period in the Western tradition, from Medieval to present.

A LEARNED GUIDE

Paul LeValley, Ph.D. has taught Art History (mostly India) at Florida State University, as well as interdisciplinary Humanities at Florida A & M University and Saginaw Valley State University in Michigan.  He has traveled in more than 60 countries, and seen many of the artworks up close.

BOOK TALKS

audio interview:
http://files.newbooksnetwork.com/art//017artlevalley.mp3

video interview:
https://www.bitchute.com/video/tU6oZttfbrZ1


Greeks meet the GymnosophistsSeekers of the Naked Truth: Collected Writings on the Gymnosophists and Related Shramana Religions.  Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 2018.  478 p. hardbound, FULL-SIZE edition.  68 black-and-white illustrations.  $60 includes postage.

In 326 BCE, Alexander the Great met in India a group of naked philosophers whom he called Gymnosophists.  Though the group went extinct shortly after that, European (and middle-eastern) thinkers kept writing fabulous tales about these naked ascetics for the next two thousand years.  All of the basic sources are gathered here--as well as essays on the topic that the author has published over the years in hard-to-find scholarly journals scattered across four continents.  For the table of contents, click here.

As the only book on this important topic, this is a book that serious college libraries must have.  Some individuals will want their own copy.

Be aware that the first edition was published in two sizes.  You can buy the miniaturized version on Amazon for less money, but the fine print is difficult to read.  Here you get the full-size 8.5 x 11" version.

Here are the back cover blurbs:
Naked philosophers from exotic India,
Alexander the Great,
Lots of atheistic religions,
Mind-opening logic,
Plagiarizing saints,
Pious medieval frauds:
They're all here in the world's first collection of documents on the ancient Gymnosophists.
This book fills an important gap in the bookshelves of nudists, as well as students of Indian religion, Greek history, philosophy, and medieval literature.

You can read more about the book at http://www.thenakedtruthnaturists.com/Portals/0/1%20The%20Naked%20Truth%20Naturists_vol_19_Special%20Report_No_02.pdf 




Naturist--front cover Naturist Writings of Paul LeValley, Including Movie Reviews.  Collierville, TN: InstantPublisher, 2022.  384 p. hardbound.  $50 includes postage.

From the back cover:
● Reviews of more than 250 movies with non-sexual nudity (usually harmless skinny-dips).  Many of these films are fine for the whole family, others appropriate for teens and older.
● Illustrated articles about nude art on everything from coins to bookplates—by the leading authority on the subject.
● Thoughtful essays on topics ranging from social class to the widespread practice of nude swimming for boys in American high schools.
● A keynote address (delivered while nude) on fundamentalists and naturists—how much they surprisingly have in common.
● A handbook to educate politicians about the popularity of skinny-dipping.
● Boy Scouts singing around the campfire and flipping each other off the monkey bridge into the water.
● Lots of documents about nudist youth camps.
● Visionary plans for a clothing-optional college.
● Juvenile fiction filled with facts about living in ancient Greece, or a teenage fantasy about surviving on a cannibal island.
● It's all here in this collection of writings over the years—mostly from hard-to-find nudist magazines.

BOOK TALK
https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/4xGgQWPF4JRPTjFqIEyUh8tC3xWoJFee2SV_syJL3WOA-qMEEd2Hj9bucqCAW6a7.IffD6lEdTjvK1uYH?startTime=1668044912000
Passcode: aNDh&4uV      (starts at 2:50)


bible illustrations cover In His Own Image Created He Them: Nude Illustrations of Bible Stories.  Collierville, TN: Instant Publisher, 2024.  114 page 11" x 17" hardbound coffee table book with spiral binding to lie flat when open.  Signed limited edition of 100.  $50 includes postage.

    See more than 180 gorgeous large drawings, paintings, sculptures, and stained glass windows of nude Bible scenes.  Old Testament figures include Adam and Eve, Ishmael and Isaac, Moses, Samson and Delilah, David, the Queen of Sheba, Isaiah, Daniel, Jonah, and many others.  Apocryphal heroines such as Susannah and Judith are included.  In the New Testament, we see Jesus, John the Baptist, Salome, naked fishermen, Mary Magdalene—even Paul as a nude athlete.

    The first half presents never-before-seen drawings done in the 1950s and '60s in the collection of the American Nudist Research Library.  The second half puts them in context in the long tradition of artists such as Michelangelo, Blake, Dore, Rodin, and Fidus.

From the introduction:

    "Jews, Christians, and Muslims all look to stories from the Bible.  Even for people of no religion, those stories form a common part of our culture.  Sometimes, the Bible bluntly states 'They were naked.'  Other activities, such as bathing, sleeping, sex, swimming, net fishing, and sometimes wrestling were commonly done nude, and commonly accepted as normal parts of daily life.  Nudity in childhood also has a timeless history around the world.

    "The relationship between nudity and religion is an interesting one—sometimes fraught with tension, sometimes leading to deeper faith.  From time to time, puritanical sects have arisen, whose adherents, in their search for spirituality, loathe the body and all reminders of it.  This book is not for them.  Rather, it is for those who seek a unity and universality in all of life."


Greece-cover A Visit to Athens, Sparta, and Olympia.  Kissimmee: by the author.  2021.  30 p. paperback with 17 black-and-white illustrations.  Age 10 through adult.  $15 includes postage.

    This little book is written for nudist families (age 10 through adult) and others seeking accurate information about growing up in ancient Greece.  The children (age 10 to 15) visit the two most important Greek cities plus the Olympics, learning much about their different approaches to education and life.

    So which city was best for growing up?  That may depend on whether you were a boy or a girl.  Few other books even mention girls.

    Accurate illustrations help readers to visualize the confident and thriving society where the goal of education was a well developed mind in a well developed body.

    Though most people will read it silently, the story is written in dramatic form and might, under special circumstances, be acted as a play.

    Be aware that this booklet is reprinted in Naturist Writings of Paul LeValley, Including Movie Reviews.



Southseas-coverOne Boy's Adventure in the South Seas.  Kissimmee: by the author.  2021.  40 p. paperback.  Intended for teenage boys (not appropriate for younger readers).  $15 includes postage.

    This is every teenage boy's fantasy: to have a harem at an early age.  It is the 1790s.  Twelve-year-old Sam Conley finds himself stranded on a cannibal island in the south Pacific.  The women and children all live naked.  But where are the men?

    He gradually learns that the women there have solved the war problem: they raise boys for breeding purposes, then eat them before they can cause trouble.  Over the next two years, can Sam enjoy all the benefits the islands have to offer, yet escape in time?  Or will he become another footnote in the islands' history?

    Amid tough realities, Sam learns fresh and wondrous things about his maturing body, women, love, and his role in island society.

    Be aware that this booklet is reprinted in Naturist Writings of Paul LeValley, Including Movie Reviews.



The Orfalinda TrilogyThe Orfalinda Trilogy and Other Early Writings.  PublishAmerica.  2004.  182 p. paperback.  $15 includes postage.

Hardcover limited edition for rare book collectors:  The publisher reverted to doing only paperbacks just six weeks after the hardbound edition was published.  Only 25 copies were ever printed.  Numbered and signed by the author, they sell for $30, postage included.  They have a separate ISBN number, and are available nowhere else.

Most of these short stories and poems were written in the 1960s and '70s--with a section of more recent essays added at the end.  Here are the back cover blurbs:

In the set of title stories, a quiet teacher gets romantically involved with two Mexican-American former students—mother and daughter.  (Oh my!)  The final selection finds the author delivering the keynote address at a nudist convention.  (Oh my, oh my!)  Actually, it's all quite tastefully done.  Sandwiched between are provocative poems, Jehovah's Christmas monologue, Boy Scouts around the campfire, royal genealogy, and America's social classes skewered.  With wise and witty commentary, the mature author looks back on "the very best of my juvenilia."  The writing is concise, thoughtful, powerful.

Paul LeValley (1942-  ) grew up on a farm near Morrice, Michigan.  After teaching several years at Saginaw High School, he now occasionally teaches World Humanities at Florida A & M University, or Art of India at Florida State University.  He has traveled in more than 60 countries, and published over 70 scholarly articles across four continents.

Click here for the full table of contents and some samples of the text.



History of MorriceHistory of Morrice Michigan.  Tallahassee: by the author.  First edition 2001.  Second edition 2013.  Third edition 2024.  112 p. paperback.  $20 includes postage.

The third edition is now available--with 21 pages of pictures and maps, plus the complete village census records 1880-1950.  To read a very short version, click here.  That will lead you to the censuses.  Or you can order a full paper copy of everything for your bookshelf.













Family ValuesNaturists: Upholders of Strong Family Values.  Tallahassee: Tallahassee Naturally.  First edition 1997.  Second edition 2001.  Third edition 2007.  Fourth edition 2017.  12 p. paperback.  It is published with two different covers: one specific to Florida and one for everywhere else.  $3.50 includes postage.  ($2.75 in quantities of 10 or more).

This booklet does not belong on your bookshelf, but in the files of each of your county commissioners and state legislators.  Over two thousand copies have been hand-delivered across the nation.  For brief excerpts, click here.

    Be aware that the Fourth Florida edition of this booklet is reprinted in Naturist Writings of Paul LeValley, Including Movie Reviews.






LeValley book & chartThe LeValleys of Monteagle: Descendants of Peter LeValley of Warwick, Rhode Island.  2020.  $125 for the 2-volume set.

52 years of research
1,376 pages in 2 volumes
1,758 male-line descendants who have used the LeValley name, plus spouses
nearly 800 pictures--mostly black-and-white, with an 8-page color section

You can see sample pages here.


OTHER WORKS IN PROGRESS

Movie script on the Gymnosophists.  
    I don't know if this movie will ever be produced because of all the nudity, but I know it won't if I don't write the script for it.


Five Thousand Years.  3 volumes.
    This high school World History textbook was begun in 1972, then largely neglected for thirty years while the author pursued advanced degrees and college teaching.  Some parts of the manuscript can be found at http://www.paullevalley.com/school.  For the table of contents, click here.



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