When a 42-year-old Hugh Hefner first asked an 18-year-old Playmate on a date, she replied that she had 'never dated anyone over 24'.

'That's all right,' the publishing mogul told his soon-to-be girlfriend Barbi Benton. 'Neither have I.'

Plenty of such legendary anecdotes and never-before-seen images from Hefner's first 25 years at the helm of Playboy make up a scintillating illustrated autobiography, Hugh Hefner's Playboy, published by Taschen which has a new edition coming out next month.

The glossy, coffee-table tome is a testament to the extraordinary life of a publishing mogul - from his cartoon-drawing childhood to the astonishing success of Playboy.

Tags: Hugh Hefner, Hugh Hefner Photos, Hugh Hefner Autobiography