A Sexual Odyssey: From Forbidden Fruit to Cybersex

Freewheeling yet scholarly, this highly informative and entertaining survey of human sexuality opens with a chapter on nudism (Egyptian Queen Nefertiti and her monotheistic husband, Pharaoh Akhenaton went naked in their palace and gardens with their seven daughters), followed by chapters on gender differences, dating and mating, prostitution, the mystique of masculinity, fertility and childbirth, homosexuality, pornography and erotica, aphrodisiacs, sex toys from ancient Persia to today, population growth and birth control. Maxwell (The Sex Imperative), emeritus professor of biology at California State University, succinctly touches on an enormous range of topics--e.g., infidelity, AIDS, sex after 60, feminist activism, sexual harassment and rape--yet he also offers provocative opinions (early male hominids, he believes, had a subordinate familial role) and includes an in-depth discussion of the ethical issues surrounding new reproductive technologies. A lively compendium crammed with forgotten lore and useful facts. Photographs. (Oct.)