Sacred, erotic, domestic, even civic incarnations of the breast from Paleolithic times to the present in an ambitious catalogue of necessarily selective cultural history. ``I intend to make you think about women's breasts as you never have before,'' asserts Yalom, senior scholar at Stanford's Institute of Women and Gender (Blood Sisters: The French Revolution in Women's Memory, 1993, etc.). The late Middle Ages glorified the nursing Madonna, one in a long line of deities symbolizing female nurturance; Renaissance art exalted the erotic breast, to preserve which the upper classes turned to wet nurses; Enlightenment France endorsed Rousseau's campaign to restore breast-feeding, and (apotheosizing what Yalom calls the ``political breast''), represented the republic as a woman ``opening her breasts to all her citizens.'' Credit for coming up with the paradigm that united the maternal and erotic breasts goes of course to Freud—target, for the usual feminist reasons, of Yalom's considerable vitriol (up to this point, her text is underinflected). Some passion surfaces again on the subject of pornography (for Yalom the linkage of violence with sex), which appears in a chapter on the commercial breast merging women as buyers (of corsetry throughout the ages) and sellers (Monroe to Madonna and beyond, in what seems like an obligatory litany). In context, perhaps the most original contribution concerns breast cancer, which Yalom sees as affirming women's ownership of what has been variously claimed by and for others: She surveys treatments of today and yesterday, and buoyantly makes room for ``the medical breast'' again in her upbeat celebration of ``the liberated breast'' (in politics, poetry, pictures). The conclusion echoes the opening: Attitudes toward breasts have changed variously and radically over time depending on who was observing what, where, and when. Yalom trains her own lenses—telescopic, microscopic, or just idiosyncratic—on those variables, with uneven results. The bibliography, however, is a gem for any starting student. (98 illustrations) (Author tour)
Pub Date: Feb. 10, 1997
ISBN: 0-679-43459-3
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 1996
Diminutive sex therapist ``Dr. Ruth'' presents a sex guide for Orthodox and traditional Conservative Jews. ``People pick up the Bible for many different reasons but rarely, if ever, as a sex manual. That is their mistake,'' writes Westheimer. Here, with Jewish Week associate editor Mark, she sets out to correct this error. Westheimer begins by explaining Judaism's attitude toward sex, one which she considers particularly healthy. Judaism doesn't exalt celibacy; in fact, it frowns upon it. Women's satisfaction in marriage is not only discussed among the Talmudic sages, it is absolutely required of the husband. Lust and sexual impropriety are acknowledged and treated within Jewish law. In addition to the commandment against coveting thy neighbor's wife, Westheimer finds many explicit and implicit references to sex in the Hebrew Bible and rabbinical literature, focusing in particular on Genesis, Ruth, Song of Songs, and Talmudic and Kabbalistic sources. This last especially provides much fodder for the author. Westheimer also covers the commandments, the ritual bath, or mikvah, weddings, and the Sabbath, a day on which it is a special mitzvah (commandment) to have sex. Here the author offers a lovely metaphor for the relationship between husband and wife on the Sabbath: At the beginning of the day, the woman lights and blesses two candles, which according to Westheimer may represent the man and woman. At the end of the Sabbath, another blessing is made by candlelight, only this time the two wicks are joined together, often intertwined, representing the married couple, who have been brought closer through their sexual union. But this small gem is a rarity in a basically didactic and monotonous little book.
Pub Date: Nov. 6, 1995
ISBN: 0-8147-9268-5
Page Count: 188
Publisher: New York Univ.
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1995
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From the profession that sets the standards for injury prevention and rehabilitation, a well-laid-out, thorough guide to avoiding musculoskeletal injury and diagnosing and treating it when it does occur. Physical therapist Moffat (president emeritus of the APTA) and co-author Vickery’s emphasis is on the casual athlete over 30 years of age: “as midlife approaches, the aging process and increasing inactivity can transform many every day activities into minefields of pootential aches, pains and injuries” (and serious athletes work at a higher level intensity than is addressed here). Looking at the bones, joints, muscles, tendons, ligaments, and related structures, the authors first cover nine body areas most often affected: back, neck, jaw, shoulder, elbow, wrist/hand, hip, knee, and ankle/foot. For each, there is instruction on preventing injury, diagnosis of problems (from mild soreness through strain, sprain, and worse), what self-help measures to take, and when to go for professional help. In part two, the authors cover muscle, tendon, and ligament fitness and injury prevention in general, especially the importance of incorporating the three elements of fitness’strength, flexibility and endurance—into any exercise endeavor. Finally, part three offers a comprehensive menu of specific exercises from which readers can design a regimen that meets their needs. The language is easily understandable, and readers are put straight on many commonly misused terms (for instance, whiplash). The same ground as Feldman, then (see p. TKTK), with more extensive background information and a more serious tone. (500 line drawings)
Pub Date: April 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-8050-5571-1
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1999
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