Is Sex Necessary? Or Why You Feel the Way You Do [Hardcover]

James Thurber and E. B. White (Author), James Thurber (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1929

The first book of prose published by either James Thurber or E. B. White, Is Sex Necessary? combines the humor and genius of both authors to examine those great mysteries of life -- romance, love, and marriage. A masterpiece of drollery, this book stands the test of time with its sidesplitting spoof of men, women, and psychologists; and more than fifty funny illustrations by Thurber.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 197 pages
• Publisher: Harper & Brothers; First Edition, 4th Printing edition (1929)
• Language: English
• ASIN: B000E0PBRI
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,948,421 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

44 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ahhh... the sexual revolution--30 years early!, July 5, 2004

By 

Bob Manson (Berkeley, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Is Sex Necessary?: Or, Why You Feel the Way You Do (Harper colophon books) (Paperback)

You've probably heard of E.B. White--he wrote "Charlotte's Web" after all, quite possibly still required reading in many middle schools (as a lead-in to 2pac Shakur's poetry, I'm sure). James Thurber may be a bit more obscure to some of you, but he was an Ohio State alumnus (go Buckeyes! *cough*), an awesome cartoonist/artist, and an author possessed of a wonderfully ascerbic wit.

The combination of the two in this book is a rather uniquely bizarre experience that I found joyously uplifting.

The subject under discussion is indeed, in a rather obscure and indirect sense, sex. But we never *quite* seem to get there; non sequiturs abound, blank pages, discussions of how to avoid sex, bluebirds, flowers, a section on how children should explain sex to adults, and even a "letters from readers" chapter--but no actual sex. Lots of drawings, but nothing that anyone might find helpful for improving their sex life. (Bowling, yes. Bicycling, definitely. Obscure interpretations of unconscious artwork, absolutely. Sex, no.)

This book wasn't so much a reaction to Freud per se as it was to the wacky influx of psychologists and "sexologists", and their (unfortunately for us, entirely successful) attempts to complexify and obfuscate human behavior. This particular brand of snake oil started in the 20s and hasn't stopped flowing, and we're covered in an ever-growing deluge of how-to relationship manuals, self-help books, and other ludicrous efforts at explaining "the human condition".

White and Thurber's work explains, in the main, nothing. It asks more questions than it answers. The humor is dry and obscure, there are a ton of rather dated references, and if you're under 30 you'll probably need a dictionary. But...

if you need a laugh without a laugh track... you're fed up with "self-help" and "Men are from Saturn, Women are from Liverpool" type books... or you happen to think sex is vastly overrated (it is), give "Is Sex Necessary?" a try. You might be surprised at the answer.

37 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a romp!, September 26, 1999

By 

Marla Perkins - See all my reviews

This review is from: Is Sex Necessary?: Or, Why You Feel the Way You Do (Hardcover)

Thurber's and White's text satirizing the hullabaloo that our dearest lunatic, Mr. Sigmund Freud, began takes whatever cake is being handed out for satirical writing. It's universally funny, lucid, and did I mention funny? It's hilarious. One should pull out one's thesaurus at this point to find other such words, and all will be a propos. The book should have been a trilogy.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic White & Thurber, January 8, 2009

By 

Michael F. Herrmann "MFH" (Albuquerque, New Mexico) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Is Sex Necessary?: Or Why You Feel the Way You Do (Paperback)

A parody in classic vaudevillian style of the (then) newly emergent do-it-yourself psychology books. Thurber's drawing on p. 52 (Queen's House edition, 1978) with its accompanying text "This peculiar posture was discovered by Dr. Titbridge in a patient who for thirty years, boy and man, had been unable to tell love from passion and who allowed it to prey on his mind. Drawing from the Titbridge collection of American male postures." is, by itself, worth the price.