O: The Intimate History of the Orgasm

by Jonathan Margolis

Book Overview

Orgasm is one of society's most compelling, shaping forces -- and most of us probably think that we are living in its golden age. But are we? The history of the orgasm is as elusive as orgasm itself can be, for sex rarely makes the historical record. Now acclaimed British journalist Jonathan Margolis delivers the definitive history of the human orgasm, of sex for pleasure as well as conception -- from prehistory to Viagra. Most people manage just...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0802142168
• ISBN13: 9780802142160
• Release Date: September 2005
• Publisher: Grove Press
• Length: 416 Pages
• Weight: 1.08 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.3" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

Interesting and complete coverage of the subject!

I found this book to be an exhaustive study of the history of the orgasm and of various factors that shaped the orgasm perception throughout the history in various parts of the world - I found this fascinating. It is not an academic work despite many references that exist in this book (I totally agree with another reviewer here that index would be very helpful). At the same time the work is serious enough not to take it lightly. It is based on a lot of research. The author is a good writer, which is very important and makes the difference, and the book makes for an easy read even when complicated matters are approached. The only slight negative I felt (and this doesn't affect five stars I gave to the book) is that I had a feeling - based on some remote knowledge I have on a couple of points not directly related to the main theme of the book - that the author sometimes was trying to impress us by exaggerating some events that possibly took place. It is something that would be unexusable in the academic work but doesn't spoil the impression here.

Smart, entertaining, stimulating

A very enjoyable and well-researched book, serious but not too serious, excellent writing and pretty hot stuff in parts, too! Highly recommended.

Searching for the Big O

All, I don't know if I should confess this but I will. I have been searching for a book that will let me understand, train me, motivate me, and assist me in achieving at least one orgasm in my lifetime. I must also confess that I have had many lovers. Some good and some very bad. None of them ever succeeded in giving me the big O as I have heard it being called. What does all this have to do with this book? I will answer that now please. This book explained how a woman builds up to an orgasm. The author does an outstanding job of explaining the anatomy and nerve endings, what each part does, and how they must come together as a team to all a woman to loose it in a out of control mind numbing, legs shaking, spastic laden orgasm. The author was successful with me in allowing me to have my first orgasm since the day I was born 68 years ago. It was a big one, pent up, and a wet one galore! I highly recommend this book to any female between the ages of 21 and 93. Signed, Erica Phillips (Happy, Very Happy in Decatur)

Interesting & informative, but the editor should be flogged

This book contains some fascinating history. Most helpfully, it presents the astonishing diversity of sexual practices around the world and throughout history - in a way that makes hash of the surviving moralistic sexual restrictions that inhibit greater exploration and fulfilment. Many western readers will know that there are different family forms around the world - a knowledge that helps legitimate diversity in our own cultures. The same lesson comes from an appreciation of diversity in sexual practices: once you know something about avisodomy in other cultures, it's hard to sympathize with people who get bent out of shape about teenage masturbation. So, substantively it's a good book. However, it's a bit hard to imagine that the editor at Random House is still in a job. There are misplaced commas and awkward sentences. More significantly, the book ends poorly: a passage that appears several pages before the end is repeated at the very end, leaving a poor impression. While this may seem trivial, the fact is that reading the book was more of a chore than it should have been.

Eclectic, Breezy, Funny and Compelling

As a sex therapist and author, it's rare that I'm both entertained and informed by a book about human sexuality. Jonathan Margolis' survey of the history of the orgasm offers a fresh discovery, and a laugh, on every page. Well-written, opinionated and contentious, I don't agree with all of his observations, but his research is meticulous and stands up well to debate. Margolis has done a great service to students of sexuality, as well as to the layman with this thorough, fascinating book. Liberating the orgasm from the discourses of sexual politics, this important work lets us learn, and, more importantly, laugh a little at sex. At the outset, Margolis states that the World Health Organization estimates that at least a hundred million acts of intercourse are engaged in per day, "and they can't all be bad." With a laugh or a raise of the eyebrows on every page, as well as the frequent "ejaculation" -- 'well what do you know -- this book is probably more consistently satisfying than sex! I can't recommend it enough.