In the first half of this book dealing with sex energy in nature, particularly micro-sex, biochemist de Ropp is nearer his...

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SEX ENERGY: The Sexual Force in Man and Animals

In the first half of this book dealing with sex energy in nature, particularly micro-sex, biochemist de Ropp is nearer his home room than in some of the popularizations he earlier attempted. This part deals with cellular consummation in various forms of life and has quite fascinating findings from the lower orders (the female sea worm bites off and swallows the tale of the male while the female sea horse reverses her role). It also gives a good deal of clinical evidence about mammals (apparatus, orgasm, etc.) with considerable help from Masters and Johnson (although is the finding about the lethal acid content of the female interior their ""discovery""?) while later on Mr. de Ropp will depend a great deal on Gordon Rattray Taylor's Sex in History. In this second part concentrating on ""man's interference with his own sexual impulse"" he goes into phallus worship through the ages, its transmutations, the Guilt Cult of the Middle Ages and further anti-Eros reactions (guilt, impurity, etc.) down to the obscenity of our time. As for the future, with his plea for Sane Sex (and a smattering of Wilhelm Reich), he is much less convincing. For the most part, he has assembled a lot of eye-catching data and applied a little cultural mascara.

Pub Date: Aug. 29, 1969

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Delacorte

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1969

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