IMPOTENCE: Malady and Myth

Likable and useful when not exasperating. The useful parts are unfortunately sandwiched in between the author's attempts to compare notes with fellow sufferers, couched in the currently obligatory argot of supportiveness (""Hey brother, I wonder if you go through the same number I did when. . .""). There are also some strikingly unoriginal attacks on orthodox sexual myths (did you know that society forces men into rigidly masculine roles, starting with blue instead of pink blankets?). Julty should have stuck to what he's really good at: presenting information. The bulk of the book is a series of intelligently designed, moving interviews with men suffering from impotence and women who have encountered impotent sexual partners, followed by some clear, detailed medical explanations which do for the anatomy and physiology of the male what Our Bodies, Ourselves (1973) did for women. No quickie cures; Julty recommends a sexual reorientation for both men and women which places more emphasis on sensual experience than on orgasm as such.