Customer Reviews

The Naked Truth About Sex: A Guide to Intelligent Sexual Choices for Teenagers and Twentysomethings

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I think this book is pretty entertaining and has good information. As a 20-something, I'd say that it's a very good book for kids going off to college. Some parents would be relieved to give it to their kids because they wouldn't have to say this stuff themselves. But I can see how some parents might be hesitant to give this book to their high school kids because it contains information they'd never talk about. So if you're interested in learning the naked truth about sex, buy it yourself and don't wait for your parents. I wish I had this book when I was going though high school and into college.

Doctor Libby's THE NAKED TRUTH ABOUT SEX is a direct and clearly written book dedicated to providing counsel and advice to teenagers and young adults. Through a clever didactic approach utilizing responses to actual questions posed by young people, Libby provides sensitive and sound advice. He writes from a base of extensive academic knowledge and considerable clinical experience and provides information directly concerned with sexual issues and sexual behavior. Libby provides useful information in a style that young people will appreciate for its honesty and helpfulness.

The Naked Truth about Sex is a "sexuality guide" by Roger Libby for teens/young adults and is an excellent beginning for the 21st Century which follows in the tradition of the great writings on sexuality and love in the 20th Century by Havelock Ellis-Studies in The Psychology of Sex, Anais Nin-A Journal of Love, Sigmund Freud-Three Contributions to the Theory of Sex, Bronislaw Malinowski-The Sexual Life of Savages, Margaret Mead-Male and Female, Alfred Kinsey--Sexual Behavior of the Human Male v1 and Female v2, Albert Ellis's Sex without Guilt and The Art and Science of Love, Betty Friedan-The Feminine Mystique, Masters and Johnson-Human Sexual Response, CA Tripp--Homosexual Matrix, and Nancy Friday-Jealousy.

The central thesis of The Naked Truth about Sex is how teenagers and young adults can derive pleasure from sexual expression with the least amount of risk while remaining true to their principles, values, beliefs, and continue to maintain respect among family and friends. By considering two elements of sexuality-WHEN to be sexual and WHO to be sexual with we are faced with three of the four decisions regarding the sexual experience having a negative component to them. Consider the following 2 x 2 table. Think about this model when making love/sexual decisions. You can change the stems on each side of the table to assist in figuring out other sexual issues that may be causing confusion.


........Timing-WHEN to be sexual:+ or --

........WHO to..................+ +.....-- +
........Be sexual:..+ or --...+ --....-- --

The Naked Truth about Sex provides ideas and considerations for teens and young adults to evaluate to their own situations. The book promotes accurate information, following conventional values, beliefs, and principles, understanding feelings of self and others, and positive interpersonal relationships. Some "parents" may have a problem with the book because of its open permission giving of having sexual pleasure as a teen or young adult. As a college professor I asked students to talk with their friends regarding how many orgasms they have had in their lives and how many of them were not pleasurable. Well the running total when I finished teaching was 281,736 pleasurable and 18 not pleasurable. Whether induced by self or other orgasm has a very, very strong reinforcement component. Unfortunately, orgasm only needs to be paired with a sexual type event and people become attached to that method for achieving orgasm. Mark Twain, as only he could do, had some wonderful thoughts on "The Science of Onanism" which can be found at: (This is among the most hillarious thoughts ever on sex.)

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Under the best of circumstances The Naked Truth about Sex would be read by parents and teens and discussed between them verbally or maybe by some form of writing back and forth. I would doubt that The Naked Truth about Sex would ever be adopted as a high school textbook unless AS Neill's Summerhill School in England reopened.

Chapter 6: The Pre-Sex Discussion (PSD): A Gigantic Step Toward Consensual Safer Sex is my favorite chapter. It is the questions posed for the discussion and process that everyone should consider before they engage in sexual activity with anyone, including self. This chapter alone is worth the price of the book and the PSD applies to everyone-teens, young adults, adults, and the elderly. To conclude, The Naked Truth about Sex is the first sexual manifesto of the 21st Century and this work is the culmination of forward thinking ideas on relationships including a sexuality component while building cumulatively on the pioneers of the 20th Century.

Paul S. Weikert, Ph.D.

Roger Libby's newbook, The Naked Truth about Sex, is the ideal book for young people begining to share their sexuality. I am a Urologist who often treats young people for STD's and fear of having "caught something". I will use this book as an owners manual, a tool for parents to begin a dialog with their kids, and as a reference book for adolescents with questions that come up and are too delicate to discuss with friends and parents. The medical information is current and accurate. The question and answer style lends itself to easy reading. I welcome the sex positive approach as denial of sexual activity can lead to poor choices and unhappy relationships. The Naked Truth about Sex can bridge the gap between worried parents and youth who are starting out on the journey of intimacy-- without the baggage of urban myths and before they suffer the consequences of unprotected sex.

The noted sexologist, Roger Libby. has written an important and timely book that also is a reliable manual for young people on their sexuality. Libby contends that the religious right has forced the school systems to adopt the "abstinence only" method of sexual beavior as the only safe method. Since no sex is the only fully reliable menod, it's easy to teach, eliding all those difficult issues like conception, abortion, Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), relationships, etc., that clutter up the mind. To Libby, this is unacceptable. and he details all the reasons this mode of thought is not in tune with modern life. The principal one being that young people dont hold with it and will tend to tune out the abstinence-only crowd, taking their own path to sexual fulfillment despite pressures to conform.

Libby, to be fair, believes sex should be fun, that it is a certain right to their own bodies that is at stake here, that young people tend to approach sex responsibly,
given a real choice. As such he has written the perfect manual for the young person who is seeking knowledge on things sexual. it is designed for the young person who hasn't other resources, such as knowledgeble parents. As such it must be simple to read and broadbased enough to cover required territory, such as providing authoritive information on STDs. And it mst be conservative, that is, it cannot advocate unlimited sex for any one who understands the words. It must recognize the transient, lustful, origin of the sex drive and not advocate intimacy to any one just because they're old enough to have sex. Roger Libby has produced such a work.

Libby acknowledges that his work will be castigated by the religious right. To me this seems unimportant, given the underlying principles. He is in tune to young people's concerns, and he advcates a Pre-Sex Discussion (PSD) as an innovative way to come to grips with some of those concerns. ln the last chpter he takes on the establishment of government, religious right, and educationists with a clarion call to his readers: "To unleash our sexual potential we must reject rigid rules, shame and guilt. Each of you, by choosing to embrace your sexuality and make responsible, healthy and affirmative sexual choices, will participate in the New Sexual Revolution. The time to start is now!"

Roger Libby's book is unique in its frank and honest approach to sex and sexual expression. What I like best about it, however, is the message sent by the order of the chapters. By starting out with "Am I normal" and continuing on to sexual orientation and masturbation, Libby sends the important message that sexual exploration and sexual identity is about the self and feeling comfortable as a sexual being. This message is rarely heard by young people today who are bombarded with examples of sex as a commodity and virginity as simply something to get rid of or offered to another person at the "right time." Libby allows the reader to think about what he or she likes and wants -- what a person enjoys and feels comfortable doing. I think that sort of message can go a long way towards developing a healthy sexuality. I also appreciated an entire chapter on the "pre-sex talk." Sex is something to be enjoyed and shared in a special connection. This book helps people remember that.

The Naked Truth About Sex provides the knowledge of how young people should look at SEX. This book really provides genuine real life questions and the right answers to virtually every sexual situation know to practical partners. It shows why sex can be a beautiful act when performed by two consenting knowledgeable partners. The Naked Truth About Sex provides the knowledge by which two sensible partners can learn about the implications of having BAD sex opposed to having GOOD sex and thereby, really enjoy the sexual experience the way sex is supposed to be enjoyed between two intelligent partners of the opposite sex.

Will young people have SEX? YES... they will... if they are ALIVE. Just like we all did when we were young. Lets not be hypocrites and chastise today's youth. We were young and just about everybody that I knew as a kid, had sex with someone. Some girls got pregnant and most others did not. If this book had been available then when I was young, I'm sure that there would have been many less unwanted pregnancies.

Everyone who reads this book will be better off, because they will learn a lot more about sex than they think they know now. It's a great resource about young people having sex. This book has a wealth of information... I whole-heartedly recommend this book as good reading for the young and old. Naturally, this book is slanted for the younger generation and I hope you read it with the same enthusiasm that I did. Remember, no matter who says what about SEX... Having Sex is a natural healthy act and it is beautiful and a pleasurable act when performed by two knowledgeable intelligent partners of the opposite sex.

I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did. I gave my copy to a young man that thought he had gotten his girlfriend pregnant... He didn't, but they were both really worried. So please learn from this book... and it really is good reading. Again, I whole-heartedly recommend this book as noted on the cover, and it is truly great material and easy reading. I give this book 100 Big Gold Stars.

Before reading this book, I was already in a serious 3-year relationship from which learned a lot both beneficial and painful. While reading Dr. Libby's book, I realized that I had tried to have a serious romance (which included a sexual relationship) at too young an age. (I was 15 years old). I will never forget the experience of my first love, but I wish I hadn't been so young and naive.

Dr. Libby speaks with wisdom about this exact phenomenon. Too bad I didn't read this book till I was 18. This book however, did teach me some new information about the technicalities of STDS, birth control and the complications involved in having a sexual relationship. It was very informative. I especially enjoyed the way Dr. Libby spoke of sex as a positive and natural act as it is so taboo in our culture among teens. He seemed to understand that young people are going to be sexual whether they are informed or not. So, it is admirable that he is trying to inform them. The examples he used were specific and therefore easy to relate to. This made it helpful as a teenage reader because he was not too general.

I would recommend this book to those who may think they know everything about sex, because they don't. I thought the same.

The Naked Truth About Sex serves as a handbook for teens to guide them to make intelligent sexual decisions. Through his book, Dr. Libby relates to teens on a different level. He doesn't use the "abstinence only method/ 'just say no' approach" that teens are used to and tired of hearing and offers safe sexual choices in an honest and sincere tone that allows the reader to trust his advise.

Libby doesn't lecture teens and encourage them to hide their sexuality. He advocates that sex needs to be fun, playful, safe, and understood. He encourages partners to talk about sex and to have presex talks for "the players to better understand the game".

Teens should safely explore their sexuality to find what fits them and what they like to help them lead a happy sexual life. The Naked Truth About Sex offers useful information that is extremely valuable to teens including, birthcontrol, STDs, sexual preferences, and sexual "technique". Unlike most books regarding teen sexuality, Libby works toward the possibility of being sexually active and staying true to personal morals, values, and beliefs. Libby's refreshingly honest approach to teens and sex makes this book a must read for all considering an alternative to abstinence.

As a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, I found Dr. Libby's book to be joyful and liberating, however I believe the recently divorced, empty-nesters, and persons dating again after a first marriage (with or without children) will get as much out of his writing as younger people. It's difficult to be so fair minded in our culture and it's hard to have to deal with social-political stress in these times; but Libby is brave and terrifically honest. "The Naked Truth About Sex" might remind you of the many joys of loving with intimacy and with sexual intimacy. It made me aware of how much is usually missing when professionals work with persons under thirty years of age. Please get your hands on this and read the first thirty pages - you'll see!