I wish I could give this book a star for each aspect of it that delighted me. Unfortunately, this site caps me out at five stars, much less the 10 or I wish I could give this book a star for each aspect of it that delighted me. Unfortunately, this site caps me out at five stars, much less the 10 or so stars that this book deserves.
This book is exhaustively researched, in a way most other books dealing with the broad subject matter of human sexuality are not. Better, it is superbly organized -- starting out with a clear idea of what topics it is going to cover, and managing to tackle that subject matter in only a scanty 124 pages (with at least another 25 pages citing sources).
But while other historical texts stop at well researched and an expertly organized discussion of their subject matter (if they even get that far), this text keeps running uphill towards academic and narrative excellence. The author intelligently conveys the social and technological history leading to the invention of the vibrator with a concise and, at times, humorous approach. It takes a bit of skill to get me emotionally engaged in a non-fiction book; and this author was skilled and then some.
And even though I found myself being emotionally drawn towards each point she made, I was very reassured by how well-supported many of her points were. Nothing but empirical evidence and the bizarre nature of human history were employed to provoke responses from the audience of this book.
I was even more impressed by the authors ability to identify questions raised by her text, and to easily assess whether they lay within the realm of her ability to answer and the scope of her book. Biological questions, moral questions, and several other realms of inquiry are noted -- but no further attempt to address them is made than noting that they exist and noting what historical evidence implies.
While I could say that I was left unsatisfied on one count, it's not a very fair complaint: I wish there was more. I wish she had tackled other technologies besides the vibrator, or had researched other societies and their treatment of female sexuality. As it is, I am very satisfied with what was written and am deeply happy to own this book. ...more
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