'The Town That Sex Built'

Let's round off the week with some classic men's magazine sleaze.  This June 1963 edition of Man's Conquest came in the wake of the Cuban Missile Crisis, which probably explains its emphasis on Cold War Commie-bashing.  Basking in the victorious glow of what was presented as a humiliating climb down by the Soviets in the face of US resolve, (in point of fact, as part of the deal to defuse the Cuban stand-off, the US also made concessions, namely the withdrawal of Jupiter missile from Turkey), it was clearly felt that the advantage had to be pushed home.  Hence the cover story about a daring escape across the Berlin Wall, (or the 'Communist "Wall of Terror"', as the caption puts it).  Of course, for the purposes of titillation, most of the escapees appear to be young women whose ordeal has left them falling out of their clothes.  But tales of the Berlin Wall weren't enough for this triumphant celebration, we also have 'The Castro Assassins' in this issue, which apparently exposes those 'Khrushcev-Castro killers' who stalk the streets of Miami. 

Presumably, these assassins were being sent to deal with all those refugees from the Castro regime in Cuba who washed up in Florida following the revolution there.  Lionised as brave anti-Communists, it is worth remembering, in the name of balance, that a not insignificant number of these emigres were actually Batista cronies who had happily colluded with US organised crime in its exploitation of Cuba under the previous regime.  In addition to these, well, gangsters, many others arrived in the US as a result of the Castro government emptying its prisons of rapists, murderers and other undesirables and allowing them to leave Cuba.  Not that such factors would justify assassins being sent to kill them.  If that ever happened.  Elsewhere in this issue, it seems to be business as usual, as we're promised a 'Sizzling Inside Look at Stag Parties, USA', plus a 'Scorching Expose of the Town That Sex Built'.  On top of that, there's the promise of 'How to Make Your Own Wine Legally, Tax Free'.  Sex, booze and commie-bashing, what more could the average American guy ask for at the height of the Cold War?