The Big Bang: A Guide to the New Sexual Universe [Hardcover]

Nerve (Author)

Book Description

Release date: July 1, 2003

From the hippest, smartest sex site on the web, Nerve.com, comes the only sex manual you'll ever need...No, really.

Think you don't need The Big Bang? Think again: Do you know which body part is the wallflower of the sexual prom? How about the real meaning of "thinking outside the box"? Not sure how to choose the right condom for your man, the most effective lube for your lady, or the best way to spend a quiet evening alone?

Written by Em & Lo, this is a sassy, hilarious, and fully-illustrated guide to original sin. Packed with step-by-step guidance and practical, well-researched advice, The Big Bang covers all the bases-from going down and lubing up to female ejaculation and bondage for beginners. Whether you're new to the game or consider yourself a pro, whether you're a swinging single or married with children, and whether you're straight, gay, or somewhere in between-you'll never knock boots the same way again.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Hip, frank, contemporary, and clever, The Big Bang is a savvy sex book, colorful in language and viewpoint. Authors "Em & Lo" of Nerve.com invite you to relish sex, appreciate your partner(s), and keep a sense of humor. This is not your parent's sex lecture: it's irreverent, chummy, and downright fun. Part 1, Sex for Beginners," covers the basics, from understanding orgasm ("a few blissful seconds of rhythmic muscle contractions that release all that pent-up sexual energy back into the universe, like a whistling teapot from Xanadu") to techniques of all kinds for pleasuring yourself or a partner. Part 2, "Sex for Advanced Swimmers," discusses female ejaculation, fisting, sex toys, and power play. Part 3, "Sex for Winners," promotes safer sex, with a frank, detailed discussion of STDs ("You know why flings are called flavors of the week? Because each one might have a different STD."). Whether you want to learn how to "house clean" for anal sex, choose a lubricant, use a harness, or "paddle the pink canoe," you'll learn how here. All consensual sex acts are treated with delight and respect. The glossy book is illustrated with drawings of positions, sex organs, and sex toys and color photos of sexy young men and women, most partially clothed (lots of bare breasts and buttocks), in various configurations and activities. Refreshingly honest, direct, and funny, The Big Bang is perfect for sexual novices with open minds and equally fine for spicing up the sex lives of those who think they know it all. --Joan Price

From Publishers Weekly

Nerve.com's popular sex columnists Taylor and Sharkey ("Em & Lo") offer here a candid-and we mean really candid-guide to the bedroom (and the bathroom, and the kitchen, and the backseat...). Just about every topic that a nervous beginner or an intermediate practitioner might wonder about is covered: there are chapters on masturbation, foreplay, anal sex, oral sex, female ejaculation and even fisting and BDSM ("i.e., bondage & discipline, domination & submission, and sadomasochism"). There's also a very thorough chapter on sexually transmitted diseases, as well as ones on safer sex and sexual fitness. The latter contains some interesting factoids-who knew, for example, that men could do kegels too? The book covers a lot of ground, but this strength is also a weakness; anyone who really wants to try the more advanced techniques discussed here would do well to get a book with more detailed coverage. The good news is there's a bibliography to point the curious in the right directions. The authors use cutesy names for body parts and sex acts far too often-"friggin' your riggin'," "polishing your china," "southern comfort," "doing the hand jive" and "testing the plumbing" all substitute for masturbation in an irritatingly short space. The photos, which feature beautiful skinny hipsters, are arty and softcore; drawings are only a little more graphic. Though the tone grows tiresome, "no ifs, ands, or butts about it," this is a good, cheeky introduction for the sexually inquisitive. Photos.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Plume; First edition. edition (July 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0452284260
• ISBN-13: 978-0452284265
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #403,339 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 37 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Factual and Fun Book on a Great Subject July 10, 2003

By R. Hardy HALL OF FAMETOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:Hardcover

For about six years, Nerve.com has been the intelligent person's sexual website, one of the few diamonds among the dross of commercial sexuality available on the internet. It has pictures of naked people, to be sure, but often pictured from a comic or artistic view; this is not the place to find traditional cheesecake pin-ups. At Nerve, the old excuse "I only get it for the articles" is actually credible. There are serious essays about sexual topics, historic investigations, memoirs, and hilarious investigative articles by a novice trying sexual techniques. There is a personals site with ads that are fun to look at even if you aren't in the market. For the past three years, Nerve has been where to read "The Em & Lo Down," sexual and relationship advice from Emma Taylor and Lorelei Sharkey, or, as the subscript goes, "Advice From Near Experts." Funny or serious, their counsel is always worth reading, even if they are only near experts. Now Em and Lo have produced _The Big Bang: Nerve's Guide to the New Sexual Universe_ (Plume), although the production is credited to "the writers at Nerve" and seems to have been a team effort. True to Nerve tradition, the new sex manual is practical, good looking, and fun to read.

Em and Lo cannot do anything without humor, and there is plenty here. The most serious it gets is Chapter 12, which is simply titled "Read This Chapter." It starts, "Don't even think about skipping this chapter, because whatever you know, it's not enough." It is, inevitably, about sexually transmitted diseases. There is more to sex than seriousness, Em and Lo would be the first to agree, and most of the rest of the volume is devoted to having fun.... There is a great chapter on what used to be called Hong Kong honeymoon accessories, marital aids, or adult novelties, but are now simply, and with brisk appropriateness, called toys. There are pages and pages of descriptions of toys, pros, cons, and suggestions; you will even find the "Hello Kitty Vibe" featuring the mouthless visage of the kitschy cat. (_The Big Bang_ may be written by women, by the way, but the advice, just like most of the toys, can be used on both sexes.) There are simply lots of good suggestions in other chapters, given by enthusiastic authors who have obviously found their dream subject. There are many, many suggestions for couples. A great chapter on kink allows that "Just because you like to be tied up, spanked, and called 'bitch' doesn't mean you're a bad feminist." There are useful chapters on oral and anal sex, the G spot, birth control, and lubricants. A whole chapter is devoted to the importance for both sexes of doing Kegel exercises for better performance and pleasure. Yes, yes, yes.

_The Big Bang_ lacks the mass and comprehensiveness of the excellent _The Guide to Getting It On!_, but it has great humor, sound advice, and an enthusiasm for the subject that ought to be infectious. It can be enjoyed solo, but would be fine material for couples to read together. For those who value jocular, informal, and informative writing, and don't know everything about sex, this will be a delight. Read more ›

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars more detail on this work... August 4, 2003

By tom adams

Format:Hardcover

em and lo have a weekly sex and relationship column at nerve.com. the big bang is an outgrowth of that work.
i have found this to be an excellent reference on human sexuality.

rufus griscom, ceo of nerve, provides a thoughtful two page introduction. the summary paragraph is quoted,

"this is all good. as individuals getting to know one another, and as a species, we need more humility.
if you embrace the absurdity of it and really, truly enjoy it, you will be the best possible lover.
if you then also employ the tips in this book-forget about it. your lover will follow you around like
a lapdog for the rest of his or her life. use your power for good."

the book has three parts.

the first section "sex for beginners,just the basics"

covers

ah...ah...ahchoooo!!! (the anti-climactic orgasm chapter)
me time (nerve's masturbation manifesto)
the niceties (foreplay is everything)
can i get a hand here? (manually stimulating your partner)
heading south (the art of oral sex)
just doing it (the ins and outs of intercourse)
doing the butt (a complete guide to anal fun)

the second section "sex for advanced swimmers, getting tricky with it"

covers

g lust and special sauce (the mysterious world of the g-spot and female ejaculation)
going deep (fisting for pacifists)
sex toys won't break your heart (plugging in your sex life)
kink, it's not what you think... (bdsm for the rest of us)

the third section "sex for winners!, safer sex and sexual fitness"

covers

read this chapter (std's you could have right now!...)
putting up walls (condoms, condoms, condoms)
the choice is yours (birth control and emergency contraception)
ladie's night (beyond sugar and spice: vaginas and boobies)
self help for your peter (everything you wanted to know about penises and weren't afraid to ask)
pumping your love muscles (kegels for him and her)
wet your whistle (the importance of lube)

finally

the hipbone's connected to the...(the below the belt anatomy appendix)

a bibliography and acknowledgments and a bit about the authors.

this book is destined to be a classic reference for the next decade... Read more ›

39 of 44 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars mom approves September 24, 2003

By Joni Rodgers

Format:Hardcover

After giving it a thorough read, I purchased this book for my 16-year-old son, presenting it to him with the caveat, "This is a learner's permit, not a driver's license."

We live in a state where you say "bush" and people think "W." Sex education (not) is strictly limited to antediluvian abstinence-only sermons, and whether parents want to face the fact or not, that's totally inadequate. To realistically promote teen abstinence, we need to 1) promote masturbation as the physically and emotionally healthier alternative to intercourse and 2) de-mystify sex with accurate information on the mechanical and social realities about which healthy teens are naturally curious. The information in The Big Bang is balanced, accessible, clinically sound, and painfully (fisting?!) thorough. And it's presented with the same sort of hip, hilarious writing you find in The Onion (my son's favorite news source.) Frankly, I learned a few things myself.

Thanks, Em & Lo, for providing a platform from which we'll be able to launch some awkward but meaningful dialogue. My daughter will be getting a copy for her 16th birthday next year.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars the best sex guide ever. ever. July 16, 2003

By A Customer

Format:Hardcover

The Big Bang is frank, hysterical, and full of naughty pictures. It manages something I thought was impossible in a sex manual - it answers your questions without making you feel like a freak or a prude. It's an amusing and engaging read even if you're not gettin' any, and if you are, it's indispensable. This book couldn't get any cooler, not even if it came with a ray gun.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Info, Good Tone, Good Read July 15, 2003

By A Customer

Format:Hardcover

I thought this book was great. I read Em and Lo's column, but I wasn't sure if I wanted to buy the book, but I'm glad I did. It's written in the same catchy language, it's smart, I feel like it speaks to me. It's not like other sex manuals I've read that feel cold or too medical or make you feel embarrassed to be reading them. And becasue Em and Lo wrote it, I trust the info and their opinions. I love that it covers taboo subjects like anal sex and bondage with the same tone and attention that it gives to more common stuff, like STD's. And the pictures are hot!