SIN, SEX, AND SELF-CONTROL

by Norman Vincent Peale ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 15, 1965

Dr. Peale thinks negatively about the fact that America is drifting ""away from the principles and practices of religion"" and views with alarm, as will many of his reader-listeners, the ""whirlwinds of sex"" which are spreading a ""tidal wave of confusion.... over the country."" His book has been written to enable the average person to re-evaluate and perhaps re-direct his thinking in the major areas of modern life, personal honesty, marriage and the family. Dr. Peale uses his established, positively popular technique which consists of apostrophizing; of personalizing (""I like to visualize my audience--you""); of dialogues with relatives, friends, or celebrities; of allusions-- say to Tennyson or Omar Khayyam; of homely homilies and injunctions-- ""take a moral inventory"" or ""take ten."" In dealing with personal honesty, he raps the shoplifting, abuse of scholarship aid, etc. Today prevalent; in the permissiveness of our morality, the exploitative media which have encouraged premarital and extramarital sex and he has the most reasonable arguments against it-- it threatens the structure of marriage and does not pay off. He also talks about bringing up a family, of the importance of physical as well as moral health (abusive drinking, smoking, over-eating, etc.) and closes with ""five wizard words"" -- ""get your mind off yourself."" All of this will be very welcome to those offended by the smog of smut in the climate of the '60's and there is no doubt but that he will visualize an audience.

Pub Date: Oct. 15, 1965

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Doubleday

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1965

Categories: NONFICTION