How to Set His Thighs on Fire: 86 Red-Hot Lessons on Love, Life, Men, and (Especially) Sex [Hardcover]

Kate White (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 14, 2006

This hip and funny guide to life by "Cosmopolitan" editor-in-chief and "New York Times" bestselling author Kate White is in the tradition of Helen Gurley Brown's classic "Sex and the Single Girl."

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

No doubt, there's a built-in market for this unique self-help book by the editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan, namely the millions of Cosmo readers who, if we're to believe White, are simply desperate to know everything from "How to Find the Time to Do the Things You Really, Really Want" to "The Most Neglected Moan Zone on a Man's Body." Much of what White has to offer, at least in the areas of career development, time management and even, to a degree, appearance, is good old-fashioned common sense. White also makes sure on nearly every page that readers will know how well connected she is, dishing on celebrities and other important types she's dazzled and been dazzled by. As to the title topic, White's advice ranges from sensible ("Guys have sex fears, too") to downright silly. In a chapter titled "9 Extra Little Orgasm Tricks," White advises readers to get a Brazilian wax. Her source for this tip? Desperate Housewives actress Eva Longoria, who "swore by it when we interviewed her." (June 14)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

White, editor in chief of Cosmopolitan and author of the popular Bailey Weggins mystery series, turns here to the kind of sex-and-lifestyle advice that keeps single gals pulling Cosmo off the newsstand. Although hardly your typical Cosmo girl (she's married, lives in the suburbs, and was even baking a pie when her boss at Hearst called to offer her the job), White claims that, in the course of editing the magazine, she's learned plenty about the essence of the Cosmo world: getting it all, especially men and sex. Her chatty advice is mostly commonsensical (don't talk to men about Jen and Brad), but it's delivered with considerable style and wit--and without much psycho-sex-babble ("own your own hotness" aside). And, yes, there is plenty of sexy stuff (the 12 oral-sex tricks are as frank as any of Dr. Ruth's notoriously unbuttoned advice). White will be making the talk-show rounds to promote her book, and that exposure, combined with her place atop the Cosmo masthead, is sure to generate demand among the target audience. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing (June 14, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446577979
• ISBN-13: 978-0446577977
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #624,244 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Kate White is recognized internationally as not only the veteran editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan, the best-selling women's magazine in the world, but also as the critically acclaimed author of both fiction and nonfiction books. Few high-profile editors have successfully balanced the rigors of overseeing a major magazine title with a thriving and independent writing career.

It all began when Kate won Glamour magazine's Top Ten College Women contest and appeared on the cover. Kate earned a position at the magazine and quickly rose from editorial assistant to feature writer and columnist. After holding key jobs at several national magazines, she became an editor-in-chief, running four magazines (including Redbook) before taking the helm at Cosmopolitan in 1998.

Drawing on experiences from her successful career, Kate published the bestselling career bibles Why Good Girls Don't Get Ahead...but Gutsy Girls Do in 1995 and 9 Secrets of Women who Get Everything They Want in 1998. Her most recent nonfiction book, You on Top: Smart Sexy Skills Every Woman Needs to Set the World on Fire published in 2006.

But Kate also has a passion for writing fiction. In penning her first novel, If Looks Could Kill, in 2002--which was selected as Live With Regis and Kelly's first Reading With Ripa Book Club pick--Kate introduced her gutsy and irreverent sleuth, Bailey Weggins. Ms. Weggins went on to solve more grisly murders and entertain readers in A Body to Die For (2003), 'Til Death Do Us Part (2004), Over Her Dead Body (2005), and then again in Lethally Blond (2007), all New York Times bestsellers. The books were recently optioned by Lions Gate Pictures.

Kate's highly anticipated first thriller, HUSH, with her new publisher HarperCollins, will be available in bookstores March 2010. HUSH marks Kate's entry into a whole new genre. Set in the world of fertility clinics and hailed as a "pulse-pounding, chilling, and provocative" read, it's the story of an ordinary woman who flees the scene of a murder and realizes it's not just the law that is hunting her.

Kate's writer's eye has been described by the New York Times as "scathingly observant," capturing "the mood...with a verisimilitude some of her peers might recognize." The Los Angeles Times says of Kate's work: "It's like devouring a box of chocolates!"

Through her magazine work and books, Kate White has influenced at least two generations of women with her unique honesty, passion, and imagination. She is the winner of the Matrix Award for Outstanding Achievement in Communication, as well as the Woodhall Institute Award for Ethical Leadership.

Kate currently resides in Manhattan with her husband and two children.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars So much more than great sex!, June 20, 2006

By 

Mustang Sally - See all my reviews

This review is from: How to Set His Thighs on Fire: 86 Red-Hot Lessons on Love, Life, Men, and (Especially) Sex (Hardcover)

Of course I was lured to Ms White's new book by the title....who doesn't want to make her man hot for her?...but I found so much more than that. Great advice on issues we women face everyday at home, at work and in the bedroom, delivered in a best friend breezy style that has made White's other books such fun to read. This one is arranged by subject and you can jump back and forth, from chapter to chapter, but be warned: it's like eating salted peanuts; hard to stop! There is some familiar stuff here, too, but the kind of things that need the reinforcement, like why guys don't like to talk about their feelings and the dumb things women do to make men groan. From her position as editor of Cosmo, Ms White definitely has her fingers on the pulse of what's relevant to young American women and this is like a field manual for their lives! A must read for anyone who wants to make the most of their love/sex/career experience, even for guys who would do well to learn this stuff themselves.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More Than Just Sex Tips, July 16, 2006

By 

Monica Poling "OnceWritten.com" (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: How to Set His Thighs on Fire: 86 Red-Hot Lessons on Love, Life, Men, and (Especially) Sex (Hardcover)

While I understand the marketing thinking behind calling this book HOW TO SET HIS THIGHS ON FIRE, truthfully the book would have been better named How to Set Your World on Fire. Sure, there are the requisite sex tips (and I'm not even too embarrassed to admit that I learned a thing or two in this category), but what I really liked about this book were the sections dealing with life and career.

Two chapters that really resonated for me were TOSS OUT YOUR FIVE YEAR PLAN and HOW TO COME UP WITH A KILLER IDEA. Great sex advice as well as career tips, what more could a girl ask for?

There truly are a number of thought-provoking pearls of wisdom in this book beyond the naughtiness we've come to expect of Cosmo. More importantly, the book is fun and easy to read. And while you may learn a few things about setting his thighs on fire, don't be surprised if you learn other life lessons along the way.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars More Life, Love, Work, and then Sex but certainly not disappointing!, September 24, 2006

By 

girldiver "Enjoy!" (tangled up in blue.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How to Set His Thighs on Fire: 86 Red-Hot Lessons on Love, Life, Men, and (Especially) Sex (Hardcover)

Who penned the title for this book? It should have been titled something else but hey I still bought it and I don't even read Cosmopolitan Magazine. This is another book of life lessons or at least How to's for women. 86 lessons in all. Of course, not every lesson is associated with sex and men but rather a woman's life and pursuit of style and self. I'm a big advocate of finding self and I think Kate White is too.

There are endless magazines on the market about anything under the sun for women. You'll find all subjects from fitness, style, health, and hobbies but no magazine delivers the message of self confidence laced with sex appeal as much as Cosmopolitan. Kate White has put together this book of 86 lessons she's acquired in her years as Editor and Chief of Cosmopolitan that will make you think, experiment, nod in agreement, and laugh.

It was a good read that offers advice on sex, men, life, self-confidence, and work. It's somewhat of a mentor book that covers all those topics that you eventually end up asking your mentor with some sex advice that you'd normally ask your most experienced girlfriend about. Each topic is to the point and fairly short so you can read at your leisure with out having to get sucked into a plot you can't put down so this is a great book for reading while waiting in line or a few pages before bed. Most of the chapters are two pages with a few that need more pages to cover the topic but all fairly short.

I loved the different topics. My favorite was lesson forty-two: Guys Like Women Naked, Period. I got a chuckle out of quote in the book: "Want to know how to look hot naked? Answer: Take Your Clothes Off! Also there are a number of other great lessons in the book dealing with work and personal appearance that I really liked. Anyway it's worth a read even if the title kind of misrepresents the contents of the book.

girldiver:)