The Joy of Sex [Anglais] [Relié]

The original Joy of Sex, published in 1979, became the lovemaking guide to intimate discovery and experimentation for a generation of adults. This updated, 30th-anniversary edition is a gorgeous, sensual book that will delight lovers, whether they're discovering sex or renewing passion. Purple print on pale pink and soft lilac pages lend a sensual air before you even start reading. Beautiful drawings (and a few color photographs) of young, smiling, coupling couples (heterosexual only) serve to graphically illustrate sexual positions and interactions. The facial expressions convey affection and tenderness as much as passion.

The nonjudgmental, gentle tone, aimed at both novice love makers and those looking to expand their sensual play, is lyrical and not at all sleazy. The updated content includes safe sex cautions and a section about AIDS. True, this new edition isn't updated enough to seem particularly "new" to readers who came of age with the original edition. The content is still exclusively heterosexual. Surprisingly, vibrators merit only one paragraph (while "foursomes and moresomes" get a full page), and lubricants are treated dismissively. But this book will appeal to a whole new generation of readers, and even readers who still own a lop-eared, 30-year-old Joy of Sex will find sensual sparks rekindled with this lovely new edition. --Joan Price

Physician and acclaimed human sexuality expert Comfort, who died in 2000, covered sexual liberation 30 years ago with his landmark book, The Joy of Sex. In this revised edition, other than titillating illustrations of a post-millennium couple (say goodbye to the bearded satyr of old) and a certain cheeky charm, there's not much new under the bedroom blanket. Although the book offers plenty of graphic suggestions, few will look daring or new to contemporary readers. (There's a lot of harmless, kooky stuff, though: "playing at horses," for example, or the "Viennese oyster" position.) Comfort's comparison of sexual satisfaction to a full-course meal feels a bit like yesterday's leftovers, and he's not shy about pushing his personal taste either: "Armpit. Classical site for kisses. Should on no account be shaved." Comfort issues warnings about sexually transmitted diseases with the usual suggestions for protection, and some surprising cautions: "Never blow into the vagina," he writes. "This trick can cause air embolism and has caused sudden death." If new information is what readers are after, this revision probably won't do the trick, but for anyone whose 1972 copy is getting a little rough around the edges, here's a perfect excuse to get a new one. 20 full-color photographs, 80 line illustrations.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

The update of a classic, published posthumously (Comfort died in 2000).
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

When Comfort's epochal manual was published, thirty years ago, it made its author, who died in 2000, famous as a kind of Dr. Spock for grown-ups, an avatar of the new dawn of sexual liberation. Now that dawn looks like a brief historical window between the pill and AIDS, and this updated version of Comfort's text is a curious hybrid, in which rapturous descriptions of "Foursomes and Moresomes" sit uncomfortably beside instructions about blood tests, dental dams, and other necessary precautions. Though the cookbook-style chapter headings held over from the original—"Appetizers," "Main Courses," and so on—continue to proclaim the pleasures of the feast, the book is starting to read like a HACCP Food Safety guide.
Copyright © 2005 The New Yorker

Desmond Morris Author of People Watching and The Human Sexes: The Natural History of a Man and a Woman An intelligent sex manual that is serious without being solemn. --Ce texte fait référence à l'édition Broché .

Nothing compares to The Joy of Sex

Since 1972, more than 8 million people have come to this wise, witty, and uninhibited bestselling guide to lovemaking and found all they wanted to know about achieving greater sexual satisfaction. They have discovered how sex can be playful and imaginative, erotic and passionate, pleasurable and exhilarating. Now, with this fully revised 30th anniversary edition, The Joy of Sex promises to captivate an entirely new generation of readers.

Beautifully designed and lavishly illustrated, The Joy of Sex provides a fresh view of sexuality in the 21st century. Filled with provocative illustrations and 16 pages of new full-color photography, the updated text continues to discuss a wide range of subjects in practical detail while still maintaining Dr. Alex Comfort’s no-nonsense yet fun approach to matters of the libido. The Joy of Sex remains the most comprehensive sex manual on the market. From current concerns about health and practicing responsible sex to the risks presented by AIDS and other venereal diseases, Dr. Comfort contends with every aspect of our sexual territory. Above all, this remarkable book emphasizes the importance of a happy and relaxed sexuality in our lives.

Now more than ever, The Joy of Sex is for people who want to make their lovemaking richer and more exciting. Complete with elegant photographs and superb drawings that capture in full, frank detail the intimacy of the act of love, it is undoubtedly a contemporary classic.

“Witty, fanciful, and mercifully free of moralizing.”—Time

“An intelligent sex manual that is serious without being solemn.” —Desmond Morris, author of
People Watching and The Human Sexes: The Natural History of a Man and a Woman

DR. ALEX COMFORT was one of the world’s leading experts in the field of human sexuality and one of the most versatile authors of the 20th century. He was known throughout the world for his frank and funny writings on love and sex, and was, essentially, the inventor of the modern sex manual. A pioneer in the study of old age, cofounder of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, social commentator, novelist, and poet, he wrote more than 50 books but is best known for The Joy of Sex series. In the course of his distinguished and varied career, Dr. Comfort worked as a head of research on gerontology at University College London, a lecturer at the Department of Psychiatry at Stanford University, and an adjunct professor at the Neuropsychiatric Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles. He was also a member of the Royal Society of Medicine and an associate member of the American Psychiatric Association. He died in March 2000 at the age of 80.