The bachelor party has its origins in fifth-century Sparta, when the bridegroom and his friends would toast one another on the eve of his wedding. Lesbian strippers, dwarves, transvestites, and coked-up donkeys did not loom large in the mix, yet they're an inescapable part of modern bachelor party lore, thanks in part to the titular 1980s Tom Hanks movie, and also to the stories and urban legends that have made this male ritual a byword for debauched depravity.

David Boyer's Bachelor Party Confidential is an anecdotal exploration of the modern bachelor party, and the first book to explore the phenomenon in depth. Boyer delves behind the scenes in order to examine how this most male of all bonding rituals is increasingly at odds with the romantic institution that engendered it. He weaves together excerpts from interviews with men who have participated in parties that range from mild to wild to downright illegal, and he talks to the women who entertain them and to the brides-to-be who are finally getting in on the action with their own raucous pre-wedding parties.

Pairing detailed and personal oral histories with absorbing pop culture snippets-including more than a half century of party trends, infamous and celebrity bachelor parties, and pre-wedding traditions from around the world--Bachelor Party Confidential is a sharply written and engaging read both for the men who attend and the women who long to know what truly goes on behind the scenes.