Sexuality

Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex

The best-selling author of Stiff turns her outrageous curiosity and infectious wit on the most alluring scientific subject of all: sex.

The study of sexual physiology—what happens, and why, and how to make it happen better—has been a paying career or a diverting sideline for scientists as far-ranging as Leonardo da Vinci and James Watson. The research has taken place behind the closed doors of laboratories, brothels, MRI centers, pig farms, sex-toy R&D labs, and Alfred Kinsey's attic.

Mary Roach, "the funniest science writer in the country" (Burkhard Bilger of The New Yorker), devoted the past two years to stepping behind those doors. Can a person think herself to orgasm? Can a dead man get an erection? Is vaginal orgasm a myth? Why doesn't Viagra help women—or, for that matter, pandas? In Bonk, Roach shows us how and why sexual arousal and orgasm, two of the most complex, delightful, and amazing scientific phenomena on earth, can be so hard to achieve and what science is doing to slowly make the bedroom a more satisfying place. 16 illustrations.

The Art of Seduction

This mesmerizing exploration of the most subtle, elusive, and effective form of power is a masterful analysis of civilization's greatest seducers, from Cleopatra to JFK, as well as the classic literature of seduction from Freud to Kierkegaard and Ovid to Casanova. Robert Greene once again identifies the rules of a timeless, amoral game and explores how to cast a spell, break down resistance, and, ultimately, compel a target to surrender. Presenting the timeless profiles of each type of seducer and the twenty-four maneuvers that will guide you step by step in the game of seduction, The Art of Seduction is an indispensable primer of persuasion that reveals the timeless power of this age-old art.

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Amazing Sex, Third Edition

Sexy is as sexy does, according to Sari Locker (called "our favorite tantalizing sex writer" by Playboy magazine). But how to feel sexy if you're a virgin, or if you've experienced sexual problems, or have serious body image hang-ups? The Complete Idiot's Guide to Amazing Sex succeeds in not only teaching technique (as well as a book can), but also offers serious advice for boosting your self-esteem. As with other Complete Idiot guides, you'll probably want to turn this one backwards in your bookcase, or at least get a book cover for it. But get past the silly title and you'll find a plethora of facts, tips, and tricks on topics including sexual response, masturbation, foreplay, afterplay, oral sex, fantasy, sex toys, sexual preference, cross-dressing, and "The Big Om": tantric sex.

The margin notes liberally decorating the book are worth a hearty chuckle. The "Sextistics" are particularly fun and eye-opening. Some examples: only 9 percent of people surveyed believe sex appeal is innate; the rest feel it can be acquired!; about 7 percent of women have never climaxed; the majority of male crossdressers are married with children; and, according to the Hite Report, nearly 60 percent of men ages 61 to 75 said their desire for sex remained steady or increased with age, Viagra or no.

Locker, a sex educator and WCBS-TV relationship correspondent, has been a sex educator for more than a decade. That said, she should have placed the facts on contraceptives and sexually transmitted diseases earlier in the book, before the hot and heavy photographs of sexual positions. That gripe aside, Amazing Sex is worth investigating by both sexual neophytes and experienced couples looking to maintain a state of hot monogamy.

Most people know that there’s more to sex than the missionary position. But to make sex really hot, some people need a little guidance. That’s where acclaimed sex educator—and WCBS-TV relationship correspondent—Sari Locker steps in. The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Amazing Sex, Third Edition, has fresh advice on how readers can make smart sexual choices, cast aside inhibitions, and keep their sex life exciting well into their golden years. Readers get new and updated chapters on:

• Current sexual trends and attitudes
• Sex within marriage and long-term relationships
• Body image, obesity, and plastic surgery and their effect on sexuality
• Exciting techniques for reaching multiple orgasms for men and women
• Tips on specific sexual activities, including playful ideas on locations and toys
• Plus an 8-page full-color photographic insert of Sari’s eight original sexual positions

An acclaimed sex educator explains how to enjoy your sex life like never before. Topics include the pleasure of touch, sexual positions, sexual fantasy, sex online, sex toys, Tantric sex, S

Passionate Marriage: Keeping Love and Intimacy Alive in Committed Relationships

People joke that the start of a couple's marriage means the end of their sex life. David Schnarch, a sex therapist praised by Pepper Schwartz, uses epiphany-laden conversations taken directly from his own marriage and the married couples he sees in practice to help readers defy the myth that marriages are necessarily passionless, and instead prove that the longer a couple has been together, the higher the fireworks can fly. It's especially aimed at older couples who, Schnarch says, are self-actualized and therefore better able to handle intimacy than younger partners. "People have difficulty with intimacy because they're supposed to," he says, and goes on in this inspiring book to combine elements of marriage therapy and sex therapy to bring plenty of practical, fresh ideas to the crowd of mostly vapid relationship books. (Note that despite its title, it's for any emotionally committed couple, not just married folks.)

Schnarch says that a man is more likely to let a relationship suffer in order to hold on to his sense of self, while a woman is more apt to let her identity suffer to help strengthen it. Schnarch gives explicit tips on how to alter this pattern, an essential step he calls "differentiation." He also explains why compromise isn't always the best route to take when conflicts arise. The couples profiled here deal with the usual suspects: uneven sexual desire and initiation, battles about oral sex, self-image problems, the "boondoggle" of trust (both of one's self and one's partner), and the specter of divorce. Instead of focusing on each client's weaknesses, Schnarch teaches how to find inner strength and resilience that can be used to reaffirm a relationship and reignite sex. William H. Masters of Masters and Johnson fame calls this book "a classic," and no wonder. --Erica Jorgensen

Irresistible Attraction: Secrets of Personal Magnetism

People form their first impression of you in three to four seconds! This book reveals to you the hidden secrets of attraction and charisma. You will learn to maximize your hidden and natural attributes to create an instant bond with anyone you meet! Learn how to:

*Have them falling for you in a heartbeat!
*Communicate with others at the unconscious level.
*Make a great first impression with your body language.
*Know what their eyes are saying to you.
*Appear comfortable even when you aren't!
*Speak with confidence when you are nervous!
*Use specific words and phrases to influence them now!
*Create chemistry with anyone at will!

The Sex-Starved Marriage: Boosting Your Marriage Libido: A Couple's Guide

In contrast to its tabloid title, The Sex-Starved Marriage offers candid and sensible counsel for couples with mismatched libidos. Seasoned sex therapist Michele Weiner-Davis skewers two stereotypes about sex in marriage. First, she jettisons the idea that husbands are hot and wives are not, giving examples of "low-desire" men in her practice. Next, she upends the longstanding model of sexual response and advises readers: "Just do it. Desire is a decision. Once the low-interest partner allows him/herself to be touched and aroused, this will trigger a strong desire to continue being sexual." The strength of her approach to the causes of sexual stalemate lies in her insights about the struggles of both partners. Her suggestions (how to break the ice, how to court your partner, nag busting, and the Hallmark solution) are not gimmicky and are presented as techniques for couples, not individuals. Weakened only by a final chapter--one that discloses too many details about the author's marriage--this perceptive book will inspire couples to add heat and light to their marriage. --Barbara Mackoff

Bring the spark back into your bedroom and your relationship with gutsy and effective advice from bestselling author Michele Weiner Davis.

It is estimated that one of every three married couples struggles with problems associated with mismatched sexual desire. Do you? If you want to stop fighting about sex and revitalize your intimate connection with your spouse, then you need this book. In The Sex-Starved Marriage, bestselling author Michele Weiner Davis will help you understand why being complacent or bitter about ho-hum sex might cost you your relationship.

Full of moving firsthand accounts from couples who have struggled with the erosion of sexual desire and rebuilt their passionate connection, The Sex-Starved Marriage addresses every aspect of the sexual libido problem:

• If you're the more highly sexed partner, you'll breathe a sigh of relief. At last someone understands your feelings about the void in your marriage. Discover why your pleas for touch have fallen upon deaf ears and why your approach to the lull in your sexual relationship could be a sexual turnoff. Most important, learn new ways to motivate your spouse to take your needs for more physical closeness to heart.
• If you're the spouse with a lagging libido, you're far from alone. You'll learn about the physiological and psychological factors, including unresolved relationship issues, that may contribute to the chill in your bedroom and what you can do to melt the ice. And if you're a man, you'll be surprised to learn that staggering numbers of men, even men whose sexual machinery works just fine, "get headaches" too!

The Sex-Starved Marriage will give you and your spouse the inspiration, encouragement, and answers you need.

Keeping The Love You Find: A Guide for Singles

The Layguide: How to Seduce Women More Beautiful Than You Ever Dreamed Possible No Matter What You Look Like or How Much You Make

The History of Sexuality: An Introduction

The author turns his attention to sex and the reasons why we are driven constantly to analyze and discuss it. An iconoclastic explanation of modern sexual history.

Mating in Captivity: Unlocking Erotic Intelligence

One of the world's most respected voices on erotic intelligence, Esther Perel offers a bold, provocative new take on intimacy and sex. Mating in Captivity invites us to explore the paradoxical union of domesticity and sexual desire, and explains what it takes to bring lust home.

Drawing on more than twenty years of experience as a couples therapist, Perel examines the complexities of sustaining desire. Through case studies and lively discussion, Perel demonstrates how more exciting, playful, and even poetic sex is possible in long-term relationships. Wise, witty, and as revelatory as it is straightforward, Mating in Captivity is a sensational book that will transform the way you live and love.