A History of Celibacy: From Athena to Elizabeth I, Leonardo da Vinci, Florence Nightingale, Gandhi, and Cher (Hardcover)

by Elizabeth Abbott (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Readers who consider celibacy the exclusive domain of priests and nuns are in for a big surprise. Elizabeth Abbott's entertaining history traces over 3,000 years of sexual abstinence and illustrates how it has been practiced all over the world for a variety of reasons, both religious and secular. A History of Celibacy begins with the ancient Greek deities, Athena, Artemis, and Hestia, for whom celibacy was a means of liberation from traditional female servitude, and concludes with the present-day AIDS epidemic, a primary justification for the renewed call to celibacy. In between, Abbott, who dedicated eight years to this project, discovers fascinating examples of sexual abstinence, whether coerced or self-proclaimed, temporary or permanent. For example, celibacy enabled egalitarianism and female leadership for 18th-century Shakers, the Greek athlete enhanced athletic performance by conserving semen, and Shamans and Vodun priests to this day attain a state conducive to communicating with the spirits through short-term abstinence.

Abbott describes and analyzes over 120 instances of sexual abstinence, expertly illuminating the interrelation of detailed particulars with historical context and social norms. A bestseller in Canada, where Abbott serves as Dean of Women at Trinity College, A History of Celibacy neither advocates nor opposes the practice. Instead, Abbott, herself a converted celibate, emphasizes individual choice according to individual needs, drives, and desires. --Bertina Loeffler Sedlack

From Library Journal
Celibacy: it's not just a matter of religious conviction, argues the dean of women at Trinity College.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 496 pages
• Publisher: Scribner; 1 edition (May 15, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684849437
• ISBN-13: 978-0684849430
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,246,999 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A thoughtful and well-constructed analysis, June 30, 2000

By A Customer

Despite getting bogged down in various minutae in regards to different religious sects, this book is an entertaining and informative read. The author adroitly links the cultural mores of societies across the earth, and analyzes the reasons for celibacy or eternal virginity among different religions and cultures. She also, interestingly enough, emphasizes the practical nature of celibacy, and the role it plays in today's sex-driven culture. I recommend this book to anyone interested in a bit of odd cultural history or someone just interested in the rise and fall of celibacy.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars through time and cultures, August 17, 2002

By	Joelle Morris (Evian, France) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

A history of celibacy is a deeply compelling book that offeres a plathora of cultural views on celibacy. From china to native americans, ancient greeks to today, Elizabeth Abbott introduces the reader to a world populated by eunuchs, transvestite nuns, tormented ascetics, empowered virgins and AIDS-weary homosexuals. Abbott's wit and wry sense of humor makes this scholarly research a joy to read. I feel more knowledgble of both my own and other cultures view on sex, the close relationship between religion and sex, and how centuries of sexual principles affects many of todays issues concerning homosexulality, teenage pregnancy, pedophile priests, etc...
A must read for the curious.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars At last - a proper look at celibacy, September 3, 2000

By	Julia Gardiner "mizmaze" (LONDON) - See all my reviews

Well researched and well written, this is a book I would have liked to have written myself -- so I read it with great pleasure. A sensitive but searching investigation into what can be a joyful sexual choice or a bitter deprivation. Read this. It's good. It's not just another "self help" blather. It's a real book.