Contraception Books

This is a great conversion into Microsoft Reader format of the classic translation by Richard Burton (No no not the one that was married to Elizabeth Taylor, the one that was married to Isabel Arundell!). Although some people think of the Kama Sutra as a catalog of "positions" it's much more than that - a substantial guide and commentary to human sexuality/sensuality. The publisher takes advantage of all the features that make Microsoft Reader the premier ebook reader program. Clicking any item on the Contents page jumps you to that chapter. Clicking on a footnote in the text jumps you to that footnote - and clicking on the footnote number from there returns you to the text.

The work itself sometimes states the obvious, "Now good looks, good qualities, youth, and liberality are the chief and most natural means of making a person agreeable in the eyes of others," which is no help to craggly, old, broke guy like me. On the other hand, I have to agree completely with Burton's observation that, "It is a work that should be studied by all, both old and young; the former will find in it real truths, gathered by experience, and already tested by themselves, while the latter will derive the great advantage of learning things, which some perhaps may otherwise never learn at all, or which they may only learn when it is too late."

There are no illustrations in this version - no need for them, in my opinion. This isn't supposed to be an aid for...uh...self titillation. Besides, illos would have just increased the download time. 5 stars.

This book is not a Kama Sutra. There are no illustrations. The whole purpose of this book is to enhance ones love life. I personally don't see how this particular book could do it. Men need to see pictures. It is known in psychology circles that men need visuals.

The Kama Sutra has a huge reputation based on only one of its five sections. The positions would be Part 2 and only one chapter of the ten in that section. Most books with Kama Sutra in the title are just going to be some porn structured around that chapter. The entire book is not so much useful in describing the physics of sex as for describing the psychology of sex. (It is good for physical stuff too. At one point it gives a method to get to the G-spot with the fingers, so I have to give Indian medicine props there.)

The five sections are as follows:
Part 1 - Describes how to be attractive. You should bathe before you will be meeting the opposite sex and do something to get your breath smelling better. Also clean your apartment. People call it ritual, but it is excellent advice on not being a slob. For women it gives a listing of the 64 arts which will let you be the favorite in the harem. They are fun. Who wouldn't love a woman who does yoga, can inlay a marble table and knows how to design and build irrigation systems? Much more fun to try to be than the Proverbs 31 woman, but on the other hand kind of a strange laundry list of talents.
Part 2 - The positions, hugging, kissing, scratching and oral. Size of the man and the woman and which positions are better to even thing out in that regard.
Part 3 - How to negotiate an arranged marriage (not so useful now). How to devirginize your bride. You won't be sexing her until about two weeks into the marriage. Its all about gaining her trust and her being comfortable so she won't have hang ups about men, and sadly it doesn't apply to most marriages or devirginizations today.
Part 4 - Handling your harem. How the harem women should treat one another and how to keep them one big happy family.
Part 5 - Other men's wives/concubines and how to sneak around with them.
Part 6 - Courtesans. Kind of like etiquette for prostitutes, except courtesans aren't prostitutes. For example there is some etiquette on how to handle the courtesan living with you and your wives.
Part 7 - Being a hottie. How to make some aprodisiacs and some nice little tricks. This section is probably better advice for the sex life than the positions in that the anatomy is here.

I highly recommend the Kama Sutra but not to people who are looking for the book by reputation as sex sex sex. The book is very much about sex, but more about the whole world of etiquette surrounding male female relations. Virgin marriages (virgin women anyway) are taken for granted and one whole section is about devirginizing the woman AFTER THE MARRIAGE. The advice is very good because it tells how to go about building relationships not how to have one night stands.

Get this book to study and think about and view it as relationship advice and not physical sex advice. So much of the book is about communication and is dead on that it is no wonder it is a classic and likewise shows how important communication is to good sex. In terms of this specific translation, just go for a modern translation of the whole book. The Richard Burton translation is very stilted. He calls the section on oral sex "On holding the lingam in the mouth" So you will be doing a bit of translating of your own as you read prim Victorian descriptions of acts that the Victorians were unlikely to ever mention around company. It seems that the Alain Daniélou translation is good, but I have not read that specific one.

After reading this book for a week, I came to have an inherent dislike in the concepts taught. I believe that the book is thought out and written by a bunch of male chauvinists.

In the chapter of 'On certain forms of marriage' in the section of 'On the acquisition of a wife', it is stated that a man should obtain a girl by means of disparaging the man the girl was supposed to be married to in the mind of the girl's mother. The man who liked a girl should intoxicate her and after that, take her to a secure place and enjoy her. This is disgusting.

Then it goes on to talk about women resorting to prostitution and the various ways in which a courtesan could gain wealth from men.

Perhaps I was being ignorant about the culture of those days and the society in which they lived in but I believe that it is not much different than it is in this present society.

From the point of a woman, there are a lot of things that I do not agree with morally.

I guess the most enjoyable part of this book is perhaps the description of various possible formats of sexual intercourse.

In conclusion, every individual has their own definition of Kama Sutra. One does not need to consult manuals like this to improve love life. As long as partners understand each other, love each other with all his/her heart and have concern for each other's welfare, then they can enjoy their long voyage satisfying each other's desire.

Katie Roiphe searched for the pulse of sexuality in America. She interviewed high school and college students and came to the conclusion that everyone's scared of sex and AIDS and they all resent the fact that they missed the sexual revolution.

But Roiphe only interviewed students from elite schools which mimicked her own upbringing, almost to validate her own fears and sexual hang-ups. Her sister is HIV positive, so naturally, she is consumed with thoughts of AIDS. But instead of taking ownership for these feelings, which should be the case in a first-person book, she projects those feelings on the country. She's not comfortable with people having sex with multiple partners at once, so she gloms on to the fact that this may be how Magic Johnson got AIDS.

If Roiphe regrets her own promescuity, that's a valid feeling and an interesting topic for a book. But assuming the country's morals automatically align with hers is arrogant, and probably inaccurate

She does have a point, but the problem is not definable. The nations growing social conservative mood has no true definable center, it is a movment of two seemingly diffrent forces, a need for a force beyond lust (yet is also a part of lust) and a love of preaching what is "right". The virus of the SAFE is covered here with Kate's eyes wide open.

It's been about two years since I read this, but I remember the book as being dark, brooding, meandering and questioning rather than preachy. Rophie should be admired for not pretending to have all the answers on this difficult and complicated topic.

I read the book in one sitting, the writing was that good. I know it's hard to find a positive review of this book on the I-Net, but I liked it a lot even if I'm left now with an impression rather than specific info gleaned. I'll definitely read her next book because even if I disagree with her on some points I think she's an important writer worth listening to.

There's something deeply creepy about the use the Roiphster is making of her sister's HIV+ status. Never a writer in control of her effects, Roiphe weeps crocodile tears but you see her between the lines, choreographing the step she'll dance on her vanquished rival's grave. "Ha-hah, you're dead and I'm a famous writer and handbag model, ha-hah, now I've got mommy all to myself." Till that day, she can still spin a buck out of the situation. Other than that, I have no idea what the point of this book is meant to be.

The great strides of the women's movement of the 1970's has created a conservative counter-reaction for the return of fundamentalist views on the 'proper' role of women, a cause taken up by the religious right of America and by the clerics in almost every Middle Eastern country.

If social progress is two steps forward followed by one step backward, Ann Farmer tries to take a lively step backwards in the cause of maintaining the traditionally male-dominated Christian cause of keeping women barefoot,pregnant and subservient to the men. This book - with its essential message that liberating women has been nothing more than a pinko, godless plot - will be celebrated by the least progressive leaders of the Roman Catholic Church, and by those Protestant denominations that still embrace the concept of male authority over women.

This book really opened my eyes to the birth control movement. I was amazed at the ruthlessness of its founders and their aims to wipe out poorer people and minorities using contraception. Unfortunately for them, it was the wealthy who typically used their services.

Farmer traces the control these people tried to have over family choices to the control now exerted over families, from not being able to spank your own child lightly when they're naughty to controlling their education and overtaking parental consent on so many issues. It's all part of the one agenda, removing the authority of parents over their own families in favour of the state. Frightening stuff. Please buy this!

None of the reviews mention the fact of Sanger's deep involvement with the pre-WWII Nazi movement and her racist devotion to the practice of eugenics. Any in-depth study of Sanger's life would surely reveal these involvements; a cleansed portrait of Ms. Sanger as this one apparently is can only be the product of a politically correct agenda.

Based on these reviews, I won't be buying or reading this book.

I've just finished reading this book for a women's history class. I found it hard to put down. It's a shame that it is out of print, as Margaret Sanger's life story, and her struggle for the reproductive rights of women and female autonomy, make for enlightening reading. Ellen Chesler put in an enormous amount of work, documenting every detail, and weaving the whole into a very readable book. I would definitely recommend this to any reader, not only those interested in the empowerment of women, but also those NOT interested in it, since it might change their minds! Definitely an important work, and an important woman, for gaining an understanding of how the 20th century has been shaped.

I found this book dissapointing, considering that it is reputed to be the USA best seller on this subject.

Life is more complex.100 million americans are single and finding and maintaining a lasting relationship has become increasingly difficult.
If you value this book you will almost certainly enjoy "Single a documentary film" also available on Amazon.com[...] for a realistic...up to the minute perspective.

Be fore warned, this is not a paperback version of the textbook. It is the studyguide - workbook that accompanies the textbook. Amazon does a poor job of pointing out the distinction in their description of the book. If you have the 4th edition text, the 4th eddition studyguide would be helpful. I was looking to purchase the textbook.

This strikes me as a book that would and should be read for anybody who is in a women's studies class or is interested in a femanist viewpoint on the Dalkon Shield case and the A.H. Robins Corporation. A lot more is covered than just the Shield and the Corporation which marketed and sold them. This is important for any feminist looking for studies on reproductive freedoms (and for us men who are interested).

It is unfortunate that there are so few books that even give Dennett the time of day. Most just mention her as an aside and Chen gets it right in the beginning of the book when she lists the endless afronts done to Dennett in current historical works on the Birth Control Movement. They do get her name wrong, her accomplishments get confused with others' and Sanger gets all the attention because she demanded it. The only downside here is that this is one of the only current books that is exclusively about Dennett and it is highly opionated. Chen lets out seemingly angry and defensive comments toward Dennett's rivals and regularly is hypocritical in her defense of Dennett. I understand why, but it does make it difficult to use in my research.

had no trouble reading like a novel. very interesting and humurous at times even. may not be EVERYTHING you wanted to know about sex, but it sure comes close. may even give you a little more than you wanted to know. I definitely recommend reading this!

I read the original edition straight through at age 12 in the 1970's and felt both better and better informed. Dr. Reuben educates with readable prose, and there's even occasional titillation - as teens we once listened raptly as a buddy read about female orgasm. But looking back from memory these pages seem a bit flawed and naive. Dr. Reuben has a stereotypical (negative) view of gay males, his statement that all (not most) humans desire sex for pleasure seems debatable, and if prostitutes are all lesbians or man haters, why do so many marry? Additionally, Reuben ignores researchers like Kinsey and Masters and Johnson, whose findings were well-known by the time this book arrived.

This book has sold over 100 million copies worldwide, incredible. Some reviewers praise it as panacea, while others bitterly attack the book for the author's take on homosexuals. I'd say the truth lies between; the original is informative but flawed by certain misstatements. Perhaps the updated edition - written after safe sex and cyber porn arrived - is better.

My own opinion is that the book was meant to scare people away from ever having sex. It gives a first impression of being open-minded, but really, its message is to never have sex, because bad things might happen to you. Some of it seemed to be very close to urban myth territory. What I remember the most, though, were the fright stories about back-alley abortionists and women who died trying to abort an unwanted pregnancy. I don't remember much about the author's ideas about homosexuality, but for the most part I wouldn't take anything he had to say about sex seriously. Reading it again, it just seems to be a modern version of the moral hygiene pamphlets from the early part of the 20th century.

Like some other reviewers, I was surprised by the negative comments made regarding this book and its author. I didn't read any anti-gay bias in the book. In fact, on page 144, the author emphatically states, "But as a physician and scientist, I cannot pass that kind of personal judgment. Therefore nothing in this chapter [titled "Homosexuality"] should be--or can be--interpreted as being against or in favor of homosexuality."

Are those the words of a homophobic? Or are a few of the reviewers here in need of a chill pill? Yes, he does state that some homosexuals have casual sex, without getting to know their partners. Heterosexuals do this as well. Denying that it happens is intellectually dishonest. Then again, some people will hear only what they want to hear, regardless of the facts.

He tackles conventional sexual subjects including puberty, masturbtion, menopause and menstruation with aplomb. He also tackles subjects that many wouldn't want information on, including BSDM and sexual perversion. I've also glanced through the "What's Happening to my Body?" books for boys and girls, and found them just as informative.

I read this book when it first came out 30 years ago. I decline to spend good money on the updated version because updated crap is still crap. It was a best-seller then because Dr. Reuben hit on a winning formula. Tittilating information (in the 60's, sex was just starting to be openly discussed), a chatty, non-clinical format that relaxed the nervous reader(most of us in those days)and a medical degree to give it respectability, Great except for one thing, Dr.Reuben knew nothing of his topics. He had no psychiatric training(California law allowed any MD to hang a psychiatrist shingle) My favorite idiocy was the notion that syphillis and gonorrhea could be eliminated by giving everyone mandatory injections of penicillin. Brushing aside the civil liberties issue, I can't think of a better way to develop a nice vicious drug-resistant strain of these diseases. The book is enjoyable only as a reminder of how gullible we were 30 years ago.