The old performance model is out, replaced by a new model of sex that emphasizes ``pleasure, closeness, and self- and partner- enhancement''—or so says Oakland therapist Zilbergeld (The Shrinking of America, 1983, etc.). Pleasure takes practice, for doing what comes naturally is no guarantee of good sex, Zilbergeld counsels. Here, good sex is defined as feeling good about yourself, good about your partner, and good about what you're doing. As in Male Sexuality (1978), Zilbergeld includes many exercises—ranging from solo mental activities to practice sessions requiring a willing partner—that he's used regularly in his practice. In addition, he provides suggested scripts that give examples of how to talk to your partner. Zilbergeld examines the fantasy model of sex with some hilarious excerpts from bestselling novels by Harold Robbins, Erica Jong, and others before focusing on the real thing with black-and-white anatomical drawings and charts depicting male and female sexual response. With the basics out of the way, he moves on to his main concern: how to have better sex. The focus is on relationships and communication—becoming a good listener, asserting yourself, expressing yourself, etc. Specific sexual problems are considered, and exercises designed to resolve them are provided. Zilbergeld acknowledges that self-help may not be enough and directs difficult cases to a sex therapist. And lest the next generation have the same hang-ups as the present one, he includes a chapter of advice for fathers on talking to their sons about sex. Takes on tough problems and answers difficult-to-ask questions: comprehensive, forthright, and reassuring.
Pub Date: June 15, 1992
ISBN: 0-553-08253-1
Page Count: 592
Publisher: Bantam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 1992
Washington, executive editor of the Philadelphia Tribune, conducted these interviews of black judges with the conviction that they would have an important and unique point of view of the judicial system. ``Teach'' vies with ``justice'' for the honor of most-used word in the book. Those polled here, who include such noted judges as Leon Higgenbotham and Constance Baker Motley, express their belief that as minority judges they have an obligation to reach out to black communities, to rekindle some faith in a system that is often perceived as the enemy. Of the 30,000 federal judges in the country, only 1,000 are black. Those interviewed here call for more minority judges, who would be needed role models and whose presence might enable minorities in the system to believe that they're getting a fair shake: A black who is judged in the court of another black can perhaps feel that justice has been done, not that he has been done in by the system. In addition, most insist that fixing problems in society would do more to reduce crime than would longer and more frequent incarcerations. Many of these judges are on the forefront of a movement to find sentencing alternatives, and most dislike mandatory sentencing. (Henry Bramwell is a rare exception here, believing there is no alternative to incarceration.) What emerges from the collection as a whole is a portrait of judges (including two women, who address the complexities of being a ``double minority'') whose own experiences of bias served as a motivation to participate in and improve the system rather than avoid it like the plague. Unfortunately, the transcribed interview format used here by Washington tends to blur the distinctions of voice that might better have emerged in written submissions. This is an uneven but insightful series of observations that, though generally liberal, covers the political and geographic spectrum.
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 1995
ISBN: 1-56584-104-2
Page Count: 288
Publisher: The New Press
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1994
Chideya, a 1990 graduate of Harvard who worked as a staff reporter at Newsweek and is currently employed by MTV News, has taken upon herself no small task. To say something true and meaningful about American racial attitudes is difficult enough. To say something true about the extent and manner in which media images create rather than reflect attitudes is almost as hard. Chideya starts with a solid premise: that because whites and blacks in America still live largely segregated lives, white America's picture of African-American life is acquired disproportionately through the media. The picture isn't all negative, Chideya notes, but it fails to convey how the majority of black America lives. In some ways, the book is an affirmation of the success of the black middle class, charting increased participation in politics and the professions and lamenting the fact that this part of black life is so rarely represented by the media. Chideya gives the news media particularly bad grades for employing too few blacks and for the consequently inaccurate picture of African-American life. Filled with figures and facts (most of them from government sources like the Census Bureau), the book educates more than it fulminates. And it comes with a ``Test Your Racial Issues IQ Test'' for those who want to make sure they don't put their foot in their mouth before sounding off in any arguments about race.
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 1995
ISBN: 0-452-27096-0
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Plume
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1994
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