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Original Essays | April 26, 2012

Florence Williams: IMG Breasts

2 comments By Florence Williams

When I set out to write a book about the natural history of breasts, I knew I'd have to answer some awkward questions about my book topic. At a... Continue »
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    Breasts: A Natural and Unnatural History

    Florence Williams 9780393063189
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eBook editions

Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex

by Mary Roach

Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex Cover

 

Staff Pick

Following her usual template, Mary Roach finds a subject in the scientific community that is equal parts fascinating and scandalous, and writes an extensively researched and thoroughly amusing book about it. Beyond the initial titillation stemming from a frank book about sex, in Bonk, Roach entertains and informs, both hallmarks of a successful popular-science writer.
Recommended by Lorraine, Powells.com

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

The study of sexual physiology'"what happens, andwhy, 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.

Review:

"Rich in dexterous innuendo, laugh-out-loud humor and illuminating fact. It's compulsively readable." Los Angeles Times Book Review

Synopsis:

The New York Times Bestseller

Synopsis:

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

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About the Author

Mary Roach is the author of Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife, Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex, and Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void. She lives in Oakland, California.
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What Our Readers Are Saying

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Average customer rating based on 2 comments:
Lisa Brown, December 25, 2010 (view all comments by Lisa Brown)
not nearly as good as stiff, but i personally found it more enjoyable than spook. any fan of mary roach is sure to eat it up.
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Christy Valentine, May 4, 2009 (view all comments by Christy Valentine)
Although I have never before read anything by Mary Roach, this book has made me a fan. Roach combines an irreverent sense of humor with admiration for the science of sexology that's incredibly infectious. She acknowledges the salaciousness of the pursuit, as well as its importance within the study of general biology. It's a nice balance. The book covers various inquiries, framed by Roach's own questions, and it's always engaging. The author presents the reader with just as much factual information as is necessary (perhaps just a tad more than needed in the section about pig insemination) without falling victim to too much technical language.

All in all, it's a fascinating, insightful, and very funny book that I would recommend to everyone. Well, perhaps not prudes.
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Product Details

ISBN:
9780393334791
Author:
Roach, Mary
Publisher:
W. W. Norton & Company
Subject:
Life Sciences - Human Anatomy & Physiology
Subject:
Human Sexuality
Subject:
Sexuality
Subject:
General science
Subject:
Biology
Subject:
Human Physiology
Subject:
Health and Medicine-Anatomy and Physiology
Copyright:
2009
Publication Date:
April 2009
Binding:
TRADE PAPER
Grade Level:
General/trade
Language:
English
Illustrations:
16 illustrations
Pages:
336
Dimensions:
8.10x5.40x.90 in. .55 lbs.
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Related Subjects


Health and Self-Help » Health and Medicine » Anatomy and Physiology
Health and Self-Help » Health and Medicine » General
Health and Self-Help » Health and Medicine » Sex
Health and Self-Help » Psychology » General
Health and Self-Help » Psychology » Sexuality
Health and Self-Help » Sexuality » General
Languages » Foreign Languages » Spanish » Health and Self-Help » Psychology » General
Languages » Foreign Languages » Spanish » Science and Mathematics » Biology » General
Reference » Science Reference » General
Science and Mathematics » Biology » Ethology and Animal Behavior

Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex Used Trade Paper
0 stars - 0 reviews
$10.95 In Stock
Product details 336 pages W. W. Norton & Company - English 9780393334791 Reviews:
"Staff Pick" by ,

Following her usual template, Mary Roach finds a subject in the scientific community that is equal parts fascinating and scandalous, and writes an extensively researched and thoroughly amusing book about it. Beyond the initial titillation stemming from a frank book about sex, in Bonk, Roach entertains and informs, both hallmarks of a successful popular-science writer.

by Lorraine
"Review" by , "Rich in dexterous innuendo, laugh-out-loud humor and illuminating fact. It's compulsively readable." Los Angeles Times Book Review
"Synopsis" by , The New York Times Bestseller
"Synopsis" by , The best-selling author of Stiff turns her outrageous curiosity and insight on the most alluring scientific subject of all: sex.
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