John Dante's Inferno

A Playboy's Life

By: Anthony Valerio

Narrated by: Anthony Valerio

The life of one of the great lovers of all time, John Dante lived the life of a bachelor's fantasy, going from his humble beginnings in a small Italian village to the Playboy Mansion, where he lived for 26 years with Hugh Hefner and 40 of the most beautiful women in the world. John Dante was a key figure in the first years of the Playboy empire, hiring Bunnies, training Bunny Mothers, and managing the Playboy jet. He befriended some of the most popular and important figures of our time, including Hugh Hefner, of whom John paints as a "fascinating, complex man", as well as Shel Silverstein, Lenny Bruce, Don Adams, James Caan, and myriad other personalities and stars. A firsthand, inside look. An important book from the life of the second-in-command.

This lively and skillfully written biography takes as its subject John Aimola, a son of Italian immigrants who renames himself John Dante, and begins an intense relationship with Hugh Hefner, founder of the Playboy brand. The fascinating part of this book is the way Valerio relates John’s life to the great epic poem of his literary idol, Dante Alighieri, whose Inferno is based on the concept that the punishment for sin would resemble the sin itself.... This might be a book about sex if not for Valerio’s ability to plumb John’s mind and reawaken him to Dante Alighieri’s system of sin and punishment, something John has put aside until the Playboy life comes to its inevitable end.

©2012 Anthony Valerio (P)2020 Anthony Valerio