Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex: But Were Afraid to Ask [Hardcover]

David R. Reuben M.D. (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 3, 1999

For more than 30 years, this modern classic has tried to make our sexual experiences more satisfying, our marriages more robust, and given our children a healthy attitude towards sex. This new edition presents recent medical and scientific discoveries in this field.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"Sexual satisfaction, sexual safety, and sexual sanity are among life's greatest challenges," says David Reuben, M.D. "The more you know about sex, the more you can enjoy it." No less than 100 million readers learned to enjoy sex more with his original Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* *but Were Afraid to Ask. Now, 30 years later, this classic sex-information book has been updated, reflecting the dramatic changes in medical and psychological understanding of sexuality.

Reuben gives the answer to every sex question you ever wanted to know, and some you wouldn't think to ask. Did you know, for example, that porno stars are not as endowed as they look? Just as the camera adds 10 pounds to the look of a normal person's body weight, it can add a couple of inches to a normal penis. The stars also sometimes use vacuum pumps before--ahem!--big scenes. (We knew you needed to know this.) Reuben explains how to perform the "Three-Headed Turtle," why not to do the "Prince Albert," why Spanish fly is better left to farm animals, and how 20 minutes of aerobic exercise enhances a woman's ability to reach orgasm. His style is friendly and clever--you'll find yourself reading chapter after chapter just for the fun of it. --Joan Price

From Library Journal

The best-selling sex guide gets a total makeover for its 30th anniversary.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins; 2nd edition (February 3, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060192674
• ISBN-13: 978-0060192679
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.2 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (47 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,314,485 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Highly disappointing, May 3, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex: But Were Afraid to Ask (Hardcover)

I remember reading the original version of this book as a teenager some 30 years ago and thinking I was well-informed on the topic of sexuality. Was I ever wrong! When I read parts of this updated version, I was shocked. It seems the good doctor is uncomfortable with anyone outside of heterosexual married couples. Anyone practicing any form of sexual expression he doesn't quite understand is either lonely, maladjusted, or a sociopath. <sigh>

Among his claims: People into SM are out to recruit you, gays are all promiscous, and that menopausal women become "masculinized." Frankly, I became so disgusted after reading half of the book, I didn't read any further. Dr. Reuben's prejudices are obvious and it is a shame they clouded what might have been a good reference book.

There are many other good books about sexuality on the marketplace that are worth your money. Sad to say, this isn't one of them.

36 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not for the open-minded., August 29, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex: But Were Afraid to Ask (Hardcover)

A better title would be "Everything you always wanted to know about David Reuben's hangups". The things he knows about, he gets right. Unfortunately, he gets everything else wrong. Guessing is fine on Jeopardy, but a professional should try to do better.

An example: "How did the Mayor's daughter contract Syphilis?"

A: "Her country-club boyfriend slept with a black prostitute."

Sheesh. Try "The Joy of Sex". It's ten times better.

24 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Oh, please, December 23, 2005

By 

James R. Hendrickson (Laurel, MD) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex: But Were Afraid to Ask (Mass Market Paperback)

I read this book when it first came out 30 years ago. I decline to spend good money on the updated version because updated crap is still crap. It was a best-seller then because Dr. Reuben hit on a winning formula. Tittilating information (in the 60's, sex was just starting to be openly discussed), a chatty, non-clinical format that relaxed the nervous reader(most of us in those days)and a medical degree to give it respectability, Great except for one thing, Dr.Reuben knew nothing of his topics. He had no psychiatric training(California law allowed any MD to hang a psychiatrist shingle) My favorite idiocy was the notion that syphillis and gonorrhea could be eliminated by giving everyone mandatory injections of penicillin. Brushing aside the civil liberties issue, I can't think of a better way to develop a nice vicious drug-resistant strain of these diseases. The book is enjoyable only as a reminder of how gullible we were 30 years ago.