Joy of Sex [Deluxe Edition] [Paperback]

Alex Comfort (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 13, 2004

An international bestseller since it was first published in 1972, this updated edition brings this imaginative, uninhibited guide to lovemaking and sex to a whole new generation. It has been revised in such a way to retain Dr Comfort's original, revelatory advice while making it appropriate for the 21st century. Addressing current concerns about sex and health, he balances the need for a responsible attitude to the risks presented by AIDS with the importance of happy and relaxed sexuality in people's lives. The drawings capture in full, frank detail the intimacy of the act of love.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The original Joy of Sex, published in 1979, became the lovemaking guide to intimate discovery and experimentation for a generation of adults. This updated, 30th-anniversary edition is a gorgeous, sensual book that will delight lovers, whether they're discovering sex or renewing passion. Purple print on pale pink and soft lilac pages lend a sensual air before you even start reading. Beautiful drawings (and a few color photographs) of young, smiling, coupling couples (heterosexual only) serve to graphically illustrate sexual positions and interactions. The facial expressions convey affection and tenderness as much as passion.

The nonjudgmental, gentle tone, aimed at both novice love makers and those looking to expand their sensual play, is lyrical and not at all sleazy. The updated content includes safe sex cautions and a section about AIDS. True, this new edition isn't updated enough to seem particularly "new" to readers who came of age with the original edition. The content is still exclusively heterosexual. Surprisingly, vibrators merit only one paragraph (while "foursomes and moresomes" get a full page), and lubricants are treated dismissively. But this book will appeal to a whole new generation of readers, and even readers who still own a lop-eared, 30-year-old Joy of Sex will find sensual sparks rekindled with this lovely new edition. --Joan Price --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Physician and acclaimed human sexuality expert Comfort, who died in 2000, covered sexual liberation 30 years ago with his landmark book, The Joy of Sex. In this revised edition, other than titillating illustrations of a post-millennium couple (say goodbye to the bearded satyr of old) and a certain cheeky charm, there's not much new under the bedroom blanket. Although the book offers plenty of graphic suggestions, few will look daring or new to contemporary readers. (There's a lot of harmless, kooky stuff, though: "playing at horses," for example, or the "Viennese oyster" position.) Comfort's comparison of sexual satisfaction to a full-course meal feels a bit like yesterday's leftovers, and he's not shy about pushing his personal taste either: "Armpit. Classical site for kisses. Should on no account be shaved." Comfort issues warnings about sexually transmitted diseases with the usual suggestions for protection, and some surprising cautions: "Never blow into the vagina," he writes. "This trick can cause air embolism and has caused sudden death." If new information is what readers are after, this revision probably won't do the trick, but for anyone whose 1972 copy is getting a little rough around the edges, here's a perfect excuse to get a new one. 20 full-color photographs, 80 line illustrations.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Mitchell Beazley; 30th Anniversary edition edition (May 13, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1840007850
• ISBN-13: 978-1840007855
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 7.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,193,368 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Contrarian View from a young guy, October 3, 2006

By 

A. Saafir (Fort Worth, TX) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Joy of Sex: Fully Revised & Completely Updated for the 21st Century (Hardcover)

I bought the hardcover edition of The Joy of Sex several years ago. This morning I picked it up and read it from cover to cover. I enjoyed it greatly. The new edition is beautifully printed with elegant line drawings and full color photographs. It preserves the quirky charm of the original edition, but this may be its biggest flaw.

Alex Comfort essentialy invented the modern sex manual when he wrote the first edition of The Joy of Sex in 1972. We can thank Comfort's pioneering efforts for the sagging shelves of sex books we enjoy in our bookstores today. Still, some of his advice sounds hopelessly dated. My favorite anachronism is a sexual position he calls the "Negresse." I'm not sure how that made it past the editors. Supposedly "completely updated for the 21st century," the book has a distinctly 70s feel. I find it charming, but some of the other Amazon reviewers don't.

Despite its flaws, this book deserves its status as an enduring classic. Comfort's approach to sex is humane and thoughtful. Reading his descriptions, you get the impression of a sensitive field scientist with a knack for philosophising about human nature. Other sex books get so wrapped up in the mechanics of sex and so enamoured with graphic depections of sex that they lose some of the human perspective. Comfort's book holds on to it tenaciously. A book with a wise and unbothered approach becomes even more welcome at a time when you can see images of every imaginable sexual act on the internet. There are better technical manuals on sex. Read Comfort's book for context and for beautiful drawings. Above all, read it to learn how take your time and savor lovemaking in all its varieties.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars oldie but goodie, January 23, 2007

By 

B. Burke (portland, oregon) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Joy of Sex (Paperback)

this is a good basic to have in the arsenal. the tie-up, teasing trick is still one of the best ever. if one actually read the book, they'd get the hairy armpit thing - it's related to the section on the smell of your lover. take it or leave it, like everything in the book, it's just information. yes, it's hetero sex. no, it doesn't delve into anything extremely spicy - it's a starting point. most people don't start out right off with anal sex or whips and chains. those have their place as well, but this is not it. This is The Joy of Cooking of sex books - a basic starting point with enough so that you can know where you may want to seek more details. or not.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Kids these days, November 29, 2008

By 

TNH (Brooklyn) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Joy of Sex (Paperback)

Oh, be nice to this book. You have no idea how much bad sex there was before it was published.

Seriously. Like, Comfort may have underplayed oral sex by today's standards, but he explained how to do it! With pictures and everything! He said it was fun! AND THAT WAS NEWS!

Granted, Alex Comfort liked armpits. But in the meantime, he was implying that you could kiss your sweetie in all kinds of nonstandard places, just because you liked kissing them there. Et cetera and so forth.

It was earthshaking. Epochal. Those were the days when sex was Penis First, Last, and Only, and if that wasn't enough to give a women orgasms, it was her fault. (Honest, people actually said that.) So many things in The Joy of Sex that seem obvious now were revelatory then.

And not only was the book instructive; it had a clean, harmless, friendly vibe that made things less embarrassing, and it sold well. Those two things made other, more sophisticated books about sex a lot easier to publish.

So be grateful. A little, anyway. If The Joy of Sex is out of date, that's a wonderful thing. It means we've come a long way since then. And in the meantime, it's still a nice My First Reader for sexual technique.