How to Commit Monogamy: A Lighthearted Look at Long-Term Love

Regular sex, no guilt, no AIDS--what better arguments could you make for monogamy? Yet by stretching her case to book length, Viets, a syndicated columnist who has been married to the same guy for 25 years, is probably preaching to the converted. Converts or not, readers are in for a healthy share of humor here as well as informative statistics. Citing in particular a 1994 survey by the University of Chicago, Viets reveals that most Americans are monogamous so long as their marriages are intact, cohabitants have more satisfying sex than the unattached and adultery isn't much fun for anyone. Viets advises women that, according to her data, the college-educated make more adventurous lovers and have a better time in bed than your unlettered brutes. In other words, Lawrence's Lady Chat got it backward when she strayed from the marriage bed to Mellors the gatekeeper. But for some mildly irritating gender stereotyping--""Most men can't remember special occasions; most women never forget them""--the author goes a long way toward clearing monogamy's bad name. (July)