Sex, Time and Power: How Women's Sexuality Shaped Human Evolution Review

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(More customer reviews)For 25 years, "A Pattern Language" (C. Alexander, et al) has occupied first place in my "Most Human Wisdom In a Book Cover" category.Leonard Shlain's "Sex, Time, and Power" has just replaced it.Surely, even amongst the well educated, the relationship between men and women holds more misunderstanding than any other human endeavor.Dr. Shlain's insightful study sheds more light into this thorny area than the sum of all other similar books I have read.Although the writing style is personal and humerous, this book is a relatively slow read due to the sheer density of ideas presented and quantity of supporting documentation supplied.Every time I loan out this book, it proves very difficult to get back. It is a slooow read that borrowers do not want to relinquish until they have finished.After a few weeks rumination time, I find them asking me if the book is available again.Get your own copy!Anyone trying to make sense of "The Urge to Merge" will find themselves returning to this fertile well of ideas again and again.
As a related aside, attending a book store talk given by Dr. Shlain, I found him to be every bit an excellent speaker as he is an excellent writer.If given the chance to hear him speak, don't miss it!

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The Scent of Eros: Mysteries of Odor in Human Sexuality Review

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(More customer reviews)A fascinating account of the science and history of smell and attraction.I found it very readible and varied, never dull, yet packed with scientific information.I highly recommend it for scientist and lay person alike.

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Scientists have long known that chemical communication via pheromones is a powerful influence on how animals develop, mate, bond, and nurture their offspring. Human animals are no exception. Pheromones, explain the authors, alter hormone levels, can accelerate puberty, control women's menstrual cycles, influence our choice in a mate, and even influence our sexual orientation. They help us tell lovers and family members from strangers and are essential to the mother-infant bond. Pheromones influence how often we have sex, and with whom. They influence how the brain develops, what we remember, and how we learn.


Grounded in solid scientific research, yet maintaining an easy-to-read style, The Scent of Eros is an engrossing read about a whole new world under our noses!Kohl and Francoeur show the pathway from social-environmental sensory input to the hormones that influence our behavior, especially our sexual behavior. The authors suggest and show that pheromones are the primary link between the nature and the nurture of human sexuality.

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Sexual Nature/Sexual Culture (The Chicago Series on Sexuality, History, and Society) Review

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(More customer reviews)This book reads as a college book or as a reference book. If you really want to explore the human sexual nature within and unbias point of view, then this book is for you.If you are looking for an easy read, a page turner, or an erotica book then this not the book.

Personally, I have enjoyed the book and it have explained the reason for many human behavioral questions that I had. So, if you are an inquisitive person go for it!

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In this multidisciplinary study of human sexuality, an international team of scholars looks at the influences of nature and nurture, biology and culture, and sex and gender in the sexual experiences of humans and other primates.

Using as its center the idea that sexual pleasure is the primary motivational force behind human sexuality and that reproduction is simply a byproduct of the pleasurability of sex, this book examines sexuality at the individual, societal, and cultural levels. Beginning with a look at the evolution of sexuality in humans and other primates, the essays in the first section examine the sexual ingenuity of primates, the dominant theories of sexual behavior, the differences in male and female sexual interest and behavior, and the role of physical attractiveness in mate selection. The focus then shifts to biological approaches to sexuality, especially the genetic and hormonal origins of sexual orientation, gender, and pleasure.

The essays go on to look at the role of pleasure in different cultures. Included are essays on love among the tribespeople of the Brazilian rain forest and the regulation of adolescent sexuality in India. Finally, several contributors look at the methodological issues in the study of human sexuality, paying particular attention to the problems with research that relies on people's memories of their sexual experiences.

The contributors are Angela Pattatucci, Dean Hamer, David Greenberg, Frans de Waal, Mary McDonald Pavelka, Kim Wallen, Donald Symons, Heino Meyer-Bahlburg, Jean D. Wilson, Donald Tuzin, Lawrence Cohen, Thomas Gregor, Lenore Manderson, Robert C. Bailey, Alice Schlegel, Edward H. Kaplan, Richard Berk, Paul R. Abramson, Paul Okami, and Stephen D. Pinkerton.

Spanning the chasm of the nature versus nurture debate, Sexual Nature/Sexual Culture is a look at human sexuality as a complex interaction of genetic potentials and cultural influences. This book will be of interest to a wide range of readers-from scholars and students in psychology, anthropology, sociology, and history to clinicians, researchers, and others seeking to understand the many dimensions of sexuality.

"If we ever expect to solve the sexually based problems that modern societies face, we must encourage investigations of human sexual behavior. Moreover, those investigations should employ a broad range of disciplines-looking at sex from all angles, which is precisely what Sexual Nature, Sexual Culture does."-Mike May, American Scientist

"...This timely and relevant book reminds us that we cannot rely on simple solutions to complex problems. It represents a transdiciplinary approach integrating knowledge from diverse fields and provides the reader with a challenging and rewarding experience. Especially for those who are involved in teaching human sexuality to medical students and other health care professionals, this book is highly recommended."-Gerald Wiviortt, M.D., Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease

"In short, this volume contains much to stimulate, inform, and amuse, in varying proportions. What more can one ask?"-Pierre L. van den Berghe, Journal of the History of Sexuality

"...the book succeeds in bring together some of the sharpest thinkers in the field of human sexuality, and goes a long way toward clarifying the diverse perspectives that currently exist."-David M. Buss and Todd K. Shackelford, Quarterly Review of Biology

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Safe Sex 101: An Overview for Teens (Teen Overviews) Review

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(More customer reviews)Hyde and Forsyth try very hard to present an even and unbiased view on teenagers and sex, but unfortunately seem unable to report the facts without coming across very heavy handed.It is clear that these women both feel that teenagers should not be having sex at all, and they perpetuate gender stereotypes in regards to teenagers and sexual activity.They present several different scenarios of girls being pressured into sex, sexually abused, or damaged in some way physically and emotionally due to a sexual encounter, whereas the boys in each scenario escape relatively unscathed.And while the authors clearly do not support abstinence only education, and do encourage teens to talk to an adult to learn about safe sex, they use a book full of scare tactics to encourage teens to avoid all sexual activity.There is not one example, in a book full of possible scenarios, of a loving young couple enjoying safe sex (of any type) without consequence.The authors never impart their own judgment in their own words, but we see scenario after scenario of young women feeling "guilty and ashamed" (page 55) of themselves because of their sexual encounters and the consequences.

While a large portion of the book is a discussion of sex and abstinence and safe sex practices, the other major section of the book is a more factual display of information about reproduction, sexually transmitted diseases, and contraception.Unfortunately, this section is riddled with inaccuracies and limited information.The term STD (Sexually Transmitted Disease) is continually used throughout, while the more current term STI (Sexually Transmitted Infection) is not once used or explained.The term STI is the term used by leading sexual health organizations, and the term that teenagers will find in many of the materials and websites that this book refers them to.On page 51, the authors use the term PID to explain a symptom of Chlamydia in the middle of a chart of information.However nowhere in the book do they explain that PID stands for Pelvic Inflammatory Disease, nor can the term PID or Pelvic Inflammatory Disease be found in the Glossary or the Index.AIDS is referred to as a "death sentence" on page 43, in a quotation, without further explanation of HIV, AIDS, and how it may or may not lead to death.This same quotation links teen pregnancy to AIDS, again with no further explanation.On page 77 we learn that "a girl is considered a virgin if her hymen has not been stretched or torn by sexual intercourse". While trying to show that virginity is not affected when the hymen is torn in other ways, this is not an entirely accurate sentence as a girl's hymen has nothing to do with whether or not she is a virgin. On page 90 the reader gets the branch name for the Transdermal Patch (Ortho Evra), but on page 89 there is no similar name given for the Vaginal Ring (NuvaRing).And lastly, on page 95, the reader learns that Emergency Contraception is available only by prescription, making it difficult to obtain.In California (and some other states), Emergency Contraception is available at many pharamacies (including Walgreens) without a prescription.

For a book that does so much to discourage teenaged sexual activity (and especially unsafe sexual activity), there's an unfortunate lack of vital information.Early in the book teens are told that they "will not become a parent" and they "will not get a sexually transmitted disease" if they choose abstinence.It is not, however, until many many pages later that the authors explain that abstinence includes abstinence from ALL sexual activity, and that oral sex, anal sex, and certain touching can, in fact, spread some disease and infection.A teenager who skims through this book, or only reads to a certain point to find certain information, could walk away with some dangerous ideas about how to protect his or her sexual health.



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Dr. Ruth's Pregnancy Guide for Couples Review

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(More customer reviews)After having read "The Unofficial Guide To Having A Baby", this book just didn't compare.In only the first few chapters, there were references to "hanging from the chandelier"!I admit, the ideaof that was funny, but not what I was looking for at that particular pointin time.And things such as that caused me to lose interest in this book -and fast!The "Unofficial Guide" mentioned above is a muchbetter, more informative book in my opinion.Dr. Ruth's was so/so, but asI said - NOT THE BEST.

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The Story of V: A Natural History of Female Sexuality Review

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(More customer reviews)The Story Of V: A Natural History Of Female Sexuality by science writer Catherine Blackledge is a methodical, meticulous discussion of female sexual organs and their role in sexual pleasure, reproduction, and myth throughout history. Black-and-white illustrations are sparsely included; the text itself is straightforwardly clinical as it describes physical biology and representations of the vagina in art and architecture in-depth. A serious and scholarly treatment of an often-overlooked portion of the human body.

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It is the seat of female sexual pleasure, the site of the creation of humankind, and the channel for its birth. It is also a potent arouser of sexuality. Yet we know less about the vagina-its structure and function-than we do about any other organ of the human body. Why?
The Story of V explores how female genitalia have been conceived and misconceived over the centuries and today. A new look is long overdue. More than two millennia of misinformation has resulted in a western culture where we hold back from mentioning or showing the vagina; where this organ when seen publicly is most commonly viewed as pornographic; and where, of all the organs of the human body, the vagina remains the most clouded in mystery, myth, and biased, out-dated beliefs. In the past, medicine may have misrepresented female sexual anatomy, reducing its remarkable complexities to the notion of a passive vessel. But, as this book shows, science is at last beginning to reveal the true structure and function of female genitalia and the dynamic nature of the vagina's role in both sexual pleasure and reproduction. The result is nothing less than a vaginal revolution.
With a wide-ranging perspective that takes in prehistoric art, ancient history, linguistics, mythology, evolutionary theory, reproductive biology and medicine, Catherine Blackledge unveils the hidden marvels of the female form.

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