Masters and Johnson on Sex and Human Loving [Paperback]

Robert Kolodny (Author), Virginia E Johnson (Author), William H. Masters (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 30, 1988 | ISBN-10: 0316501603 | ISBN-13: 978-0316501606 | Edition: 0002-Revised

Masters and Johnson on Sex and Human Loving, written by the internationally acclaimed sex researchers William H. Masters, Virginia E. Johnson, and Robert C. Kolodny, is a comprehensive, warm, and highly readable survey that includes the most current findings on the remarkable range of complexities--biological, psychological, and social--that make up human sexuality.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Since this trio's 1982 publication of the college textbook Human Sexuality, sex-abuse cases and teenage pregnancies have multiplied, the "G-spot" has been identified, the AIDS epidemic has traumatized gays and straights alike, and the contraceptive sponge (with its 15% failure rate) has been introduced. This volume, which reproduces most of the 1982 text, covers these and other developments in chapters dealing with sexual anatomy and response, birth control, gender roles, homosexuality, sexual fantasy and so forth. The tone is responsible, clinical and dry, but the basic information provided shoud prove helpful to many. The authors offer straightforward suggestions to parents on sex education along with advice to persons who have been involved in incest and to couples who want to enhance sexual satisfaction. While touting the Masters and Johnson sex-therapy method as revolutionary, they discuss various rival approaches and offer guidelines for choosing a sex therapist. First serial to Redbook. (June 16
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

In the decade since they proved worthy of a discerning general audience with The Pleasure Bond (1975), pioneer sex therapists Masters and Virginia Johnson have written chiefly for professional and college readers. This comprehensive book makes accessible to lay readers scientific data and humane perspectives on topics ranging from anatomy and physiology to homosexuality, sex therapy, love, birth control, and gender roles. Outstanding are chapters on fantasy (with permission to keep it private), communication, coercive sex, and sexual satisfaction. Also included is up-to-date material on AIDS. Good science, psychological sensitivity, common sense, and fine writing make this an essential source for most libraries. E. James Lieberman, Psychiatry Dept., George Washington Univ., Washington, D.C.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 621 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown and Company; 0002-Revised edition (April 30, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316501603
• ISBN-13: 978-0316501606
• Product Dimensions: 1.4 x 6 x 8.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #429,340 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent January 21, 2009

By Hilda Hernandez Ponce

Format:Paperback

This is a very good book, everyone should be well educated on sex, by reading books from people like Masters and Johnson. They are serious professionals on the issue, with countless researches. And as doctors we can rely on them. This book is written for all ages, since childhood to people over 45 years old. The sex life of my partner and I, changed incredibly. We are 58yo and 54 and we have been together for 9 months. As latinamericans had a lot of troubles with our sex life. But this book it is not important only for people like us. Every parent should read it and learn how to educate his (her) kids. every adolescent should read it too and learn how to avoid pregnancies in early stages of life.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars This has to be one of the most famous books you've never read December 2, 2012

By M. R. Traska

Format:Paperback

Mentioning the work of William Masters and Virginia Johnson has to be like talking about Stephen Hawking: not only are they among the best known scholars of their time, but their works are among those most famous for being known but not read, except by other experts in the field. Their contributions in their respective fields have been immeasurable, but few of us laymen have attempted to read their work -- or if we did, we easily got lost in it (I've actually read some of both, but then I'm different). Still, this is really the only book that Masters and Johnson wrote for the rest of us. And it contains one compelling thing that's stuck with me over the years. That is: they documented that it doesn't matter whether a relationship starts out as purely sexual or purely romantic -- at some point, at least one of the two people will want at least some of the other element to develop in the relationship, and if that expectation isn't met, the relationship is in trouble and soon begins to wither and die unless the situation is reversed.

That's complicated but important enough that I'm going to say it again. Whether you begin a relationship wanting only sex or only romance doesn't matter: if it lasts long enough (meaning longer than a few dates or a one-night stand), at least one of you will develop a reasonable expectation of some of the other factor -- in other words, if you began with only sex, one of you will, at some point, expect romance to develop, and if you began with only romance, at some point someone will want sex -- and if that expectation isn't met, the relationship is in trouble. Which leads us to wonder if serial monogamy isn't so foreign to human nature as the animal kingdom has led us to believe.... Maybe that's one of the by-products of having a reasoning mind and sophisticated emotions, two things that come from the same part of the brain (the frontal lobes), and it's not the oldest, most primitive part, either. Masters and Johnson don't know brains and never worked with neurobiologists, but they do know bodies and human expectations, and this they have documented. And their contribution is significant, though not definitive.

The part to remember is that human nature isn't fixed in stone: we are still evolving, and because of the nature of modern life, we may have more need of stable sexual relationships than ever before -- because they help us cope with the world and thrive. Other researchers have picked up where Masters and Johnson left off; we are all the better for their work. This is the only book of theirs that most of us need to read. And most of us should, with the caveat that there is still so much about human nature to be learned.

My advice: if you really want to understand human sexuality and love, you have to take a broader look at it in the context of the human mind in all its aspects. Start here and read this Masters and Johnson book first, then read (in order) Shere Hite's The Hite Report: A National Study of Female Sexuality, Nathaniel Branden's books The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem and The Psychology Of Romantic Love, Daniel Goleman's two books Emotional Intelligence and Social Intelligence, and Ian Kerner's two books She Comes First and Passionista. Taken together, these eight books will tell you more about human love, sex and relationships than 25 years' worth of magazine articles or two decades of Oprah, Dr. Phil, Dr. Joyce Brothers or Dr. Oz. And unlike Oprah and the good doctors, you'll know that these eight are comprehensive, groundbreaking, and based on data, making them both thorough and reliable. In comparison, Oprah and Dr. Phil are wannabe nobodies and Dr. Joyce and Dr. Oz are underequipped.

You have the list; now it's up to you, if you really want to learn. Read more ›

5.0 out of 5 stars Surprisingly legible. March 19, 2013

By Kelley Reid

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Seems like most everything we read is either anecdotal or stilted. Very few writer's want to bother with statistics and few scientists feel the need, or permission, to write for the right brain. Kolodny, Masters and Johnson, were able to pull it together very nicely. Get ready for the sequel to the Kinsey Report.