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Sex in History
by Reay Tannahill
Product Group: Book
Publisher: Scarborough House (1982-01-25)
ISBN: 0812885406
EAN: 9780812885408
Dewy Decimal #: 306.709
Paperback: 496 pages
Edition: Rev Upd Su
SKU: 28894
Condition: Collectable Like New
Comments: THE SOFTBACK BOOK! SCARBOROUGH, 1982.THE UNABRIDGED 1ST EDITION. WITH TERRIFIC PHOTOGRAPHS! SOFTCOVER BOOK AND PAGES ARE FINE, LOOKS NEW! SHIPS RAPIDLY w/FREE TRACKING. GREAT PACKAGING. Air Mail.
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Editorial Reviews
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Product Description
Thoroughly fascinating.--New York Post
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Customer Reviews
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Not a "dirty" book or "sex" book
Rating  (5)
Date: 2008-05-18
1 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
The title of this book would make some think that they would be reading about sex, sex techniques, etc. throughout history, but the book is more about our beliefs, mores, and knowledge about reproduction throughout the ages. Not a boring or hard read. Moves along quickly and held my interest throughout. This is the second copy of this book I have bought as my original copy was stolen out of my house by some visitor. Friends who have seen this in my bookcase want to borrow it and all who have read it told me they enjoyed it greatly.
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Inaccurate and difficult to read
Rating  (2)
Date: 2008-01-05
5 out of 6 customers found this reveiw helpful
Near the beginning, the author makes the ridiculous assertion that women can only be raped from the front. In the discussion of ancient Rome, she puts forth a theory that the Roman empire collapsed because the men of Rome allowed their women to buy too many material goods, thus creating a trade deficit. She states that Judaism encourages withdrawal as a method of birth control, when in fact withdrawal and condoms are the only two methods of birth control Orthodox Judaism FORBIDS. In the section on the Arab world, a drawing of a mule is labeled as a "mare". In the section on early Christianity, she covers the theology dominant at the time; but doesn't even mention the minority opinions on sex (like those of Vigilantius and Chrysostom) which became the official Church position in modern times. This work contains many much such inaccuracies and historical distortions.
Regarding the section on Europe, "A History of the Wife" by Marilyn Yalom covers the exact same topic without the inaccuracies and historical distortions. When purchasing "Sex in History" I was hoping for a book on how cultures regarded the actual act of intercourse. This book actually attempts to cover the status of wives and prostitutes, with some details the author apparently thought titillating (for example, she likes to use Sanskit words for anatomical parts as much as possible in discussions where English words would be much more natural) thrown in. On top of all this, the writing style is difficult to read - the author couldn't even make this an entertaining read!
I was highly disappointed in this purchase.
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human history at its most basic
Rating (5)
Date: 2006-08-13
5 out of 7 customers found this reveiw helpful
as a history teacher, I found this book not only fascinating, but well written and very well researched.
It's nice to find a book that attempts to discuss and compare the different cultural attitudes to sex, marriage and the roles of men and women without a judgmental approach to the subject. Too many books taint their studies with a western bias, but Tannahill does a fine job of looking ateach aspect from the perspective of that particular culture
Enjoyable book. Get if if you are interested in cultural history, or justt ready for an eye opening discussion on humankind's favorite subject.
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Excellent, uninhibited book
Rating (5)
Date: 2005-06-08
11 out of 15 customers found this reveiw helpful
The the author is clearly not burdened by current Judeo-Christian taboos and puritanism and addresses questions with wit, candor and a massive intelligence. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it, and now i don't know what i will read next. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to understand not only the history of sex, but the history of humanity, and the current political and moral climate in the US.
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Obvoiusly a subject of great interest!
Rating (5)
Date: 2005-02-28
8 out of 9 customers found this reveiw helpful
What amazed me about this text is that it made an endlessly interesting topic even more fasicinating. Intelligent and jam packed with information which is well researched and massively diverse. Essential acaedemic and yet so much more.
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