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Title: A Mind of Its Own: A Cultural History of the Penis by David M. Friedman ISBN: 0-14-200259-3 Publisher: Penguin Books Pub. Date: 01 January, 2003 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.15 (20 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Restructuring the masculine mystique....
Comment: David Friedman's book A MIND OF ITS OWN: A CULTURAL HISTORY OF THE PENIS is excellent -- well researched and footnoted; parsimonious but amazingly thorough; humorous and frightening; enlightened and enlightening; and one of the most readable and well written books I've read in a while. I don't ordinarily read the publications Friedman writes for (GQ, Esquire, Village Voice, Rolling Stone) but I found his investigative reporter style smooth as silk and reminiscent of that of Andrew Sullivan whom I admire.
I would not have read this book except for it's intriguing cover and my ongoing interest in the subject of fertility (I wrote my Master's Thesis on the nexus between female fertility and labor force participation). Following my reading of Clara Pinto Correra's OVARY OF EVE, and McElvaine's EVE'S SEED, this book seemed a natural fit, and Friedman has filled in some important remaining gaps in my education. I had no idea men took their penises so seriously. I recomend this book to sociologists, demographers, psychologists, urologists, and just about anyone who is interested in the penis or contemplating taking Viagra.
Gosh, I must be naive, but I had no idea men had suffered so much. I knew women had suffered and are still suffering all over the world (particularly in Muslim countries) but whereas women have suffered from the pain inflicted upon them (by men), men inflict pain -- on themselves, young boys, women, young girls and animals -- all for the sake of an erection it would seem. Reading this book requires a strong stomach.
Freidman has covered every possible angle from which the penis can be examined -- war, mythology, politics, physiology, poetry and literature, psychology, medicine, religion. He begins his book with an exploration into the perspectives of the ancients towards the penis -- Egypt and the Osirus myth (he lost his penis); Greece and the cult of male love (homo); Roman manhood (hetero and homo but only if one is the penetrator not the penatratee); the Bible (forget it), circumcision (ouch), Gilgamesh (off with it), the Jews (dead giveaway). Next comes the CHURCH from Augustine (forget it) and Julian the Orthodox (I wish I had been raised Orthodox); Thomas Aquinis and later the Protestants including those heads of the English Catholic Church -- Henry the VIII and James I (conflicted to say the least). Friedman then tackles science and medicine. He summarizes the work of Correra Pinto and other excellent sources who have written extensively on the history of human fertility research. He discusses the anatomical work of Leonardo da Vinci (is there anything he did not take apart??); He covers the Freudians (introspection and cocaine) including Stekel and other psychoanalysts who studied male frigidity; He summarizes the machinations of a raft of medical quacks, simpletons, sex-crazed misfits and other degenerates who did BAD things to unsuspecting males and females in the name of medicine and medical research.
The last part of the book, pure investigative journalism, is a succinct and well written summary of the search for a medical cure for impotence. He describes the involvement of academe and physicians with the drug industry; stock investors like Bill Gates and Ross Perot (and you thought it was a military-industrial complex!); the Viagra trials (yes, this drug is still being "tried" -- no one knows the long-term effects); and many other contemporary angles and issues including the feminsts perspectives on the topic of male penises.
I enjoyed the book and I'm glad I read it, but it left me a bit sad. I really hope and still believe that there are men who don't think the one-eyed-jack is the most important thing in the world -- a world where females and children are destitute, starving, in bondage, overworked and abused.
Rating: 5
Summary: The Genious of Penious
Comment: The other night I was telling a friend of mine ...--to go along with an omniverous intellect and particular interests in the sciences--why he would like this book. I explained that the author had done a remarkable job of synthesizing medical information and cultural ideas of various disciplines from throughout Western civilization (from the Greeks to the Middle Ages to the Renaissance and Enlightenment, right though the modern era) as they pertain to what turns out to be the fantastically rich vehicle of the male organ. It's the kind of book you want to read passages of aloud to a friend, because they're edifying and illuminating ("testify" comes from testes), not to mention off-handedly hilarious. More than simply a good read, "A Mind of Its Own" is thought-provoking; we live in an era of incurable sexually transmitted diseases and a headlong commitment to creating the bulletproof penis. Friedman's book limns this penile paradox, and their precedents over the last couple of millennia. I'll be giving this book as a Christmas gift to friends who will get a kick out of the topic, and appreciate the serious and witty way it is handled.
Rating: 4
Summary: Got Penis?
Comment: Ok, those who get squeamish over penis need not apply here. This book is covered in it from cover to cover, and men and women alike will find this an interesting dissection of it. The author gives us a history lesson in the penis from ancient times to the current day erectile dysfunction boom. He focuses quite a bit on Mr. Frued, obviously for the fact that this man was penile fixed and injected his theories right into modern day psychology textbooks. I found the most interesting part regarding the racial penis, as it was a new look at racism in America and abroad.
I was a bit disappointed that the book didn't include much pop culture regarding the penis. However, the areas the author chose to look at were very appropriate and provided new insight on that organ both men and women find fascinating.
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Title: Facts and Phalluses: A Collection of Bizarre and Intriguing Truths, Legends, and Measurements by Alexandra Parsons, Jennifer Black ISBN: 0312046707 Publisher: St. Martin's Press Pub. Date: 01 November, 1990 List Price(USD): $7.95 |
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Title: The Book of the Penis by Maggie Paley, Sergio Ruzzier ISBN: 0802136931 Publisher: Grove Press Pub. Date: 01 June, 2000 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
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Title: Skin Flutes and Velvet Gloves: A Collection of Facts and Fancies, Legends and Oddities About the Body's Private Parts by Terri Hamilton ISBN: 031226951X Publisher: St. Martin's Press Pub. Date: 01 March, 2002 List Price(USD): $25.95 |
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Title: The Male Body: A New Look at Men in Public and in Private by Susan Bordo ISBN: 0374527326 Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux Pub. Date: 01 June, 2000 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
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Title: The Phallus: Sacred Symbol of Male Creative Power by Alain Danielou ISBN: 0892815566 Publisher: Inner Traditions International Pub. Date: 01 December, 1995 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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