Man A Masterpiece by J.H. Kellogg

Today in my Cultural and Intellectual History of the US class we learned about a book called Man A Masterpiece which was the book in the Victorian age. The title cracks me up. I think this illustrates how much the cultural and intellectual climate in the US can change. In no way could a book be published with that title today without heavy irony.

The book outlined, among other things, how a man was to become a perfect "Christian Gentleman" through hard work, self-discipline, and sexual purity. He was apparently very extreme and it is from his work in a sanitarium that he developed the theory that masturbation caused blindness.

Unfortunately it is out of print.