The Joy of Sex: Fully Revised & Completely Updated for the 21st Century (Hardcover)

by Alex Comfort (Author) "The starting point of all lovemaking is close bodily contact..." (more)
Key Phrases: hairtrigger trouble, slow masturbation, genital kiss (more...)

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

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.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Crown; Revised edition (October 29, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1400046149
• ISBN-13: 978-1400046140
• Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 7.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #59,752 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 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 (REAL NAME)

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.

83 of 108 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Joy of Sex Updated, Still Dated, October 2, 2003

By	R. Hansen (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The original Joy of Sex, first published in 1972, has often been credited with inventing the modern sex manual. Its plain white cover and cheeky cookbook-style organization would eventually grace the coffee tables, bedside tables, and bookshelves of more than 8 million homes. Written by British MD Alex Comfort and illustrated with line-drawings and watercolors of a surprisingly hairy couple, The Joy of Sex rapidly became the sex manual of choice for suburban, married couples. Not to mention the surreptitious late-night reading of choice for many children and teenagers raised in the 1970s and '80s.

Continually revised and republished during Dr. Comfort's lifetime under such titles as The New Joy of Sex and More Joy of Sex, the original Joy of Sex series enjoyed unprecedented success world-wide. Following the Dr. Comfort's death in 2000 at age 80, his son Nick Comfort chose to revise the book again and publish it under the title The Joy of Sex: Fully Revised and Updated For The 21st Century. This new, 2002 edition features new sections on sexually transmitted diseases and AIDS, one mention of Viagra, one mention of vibrators ("No substitute for a penis.") and all-new drawings and photographs featuring a (thankfully) much less hairy couple than the original. The new, "completely updated" design features a purple cover and purple pages with pink font throughout.

However, claiming the book is "fully revised and updated for the 21st Century" might be overstating the case a bit. The drawings may be new, but the woman still displays copious amounts of underarm hair (in accordance with Dr. Comfort's assertion that "shaving is simply ignorant vandalism.") Gay sex doesn't receive so much as a single mention, nor does lubricant, the anus, or any of the more "far out" sexual practices which comprise a hearty section of more modern sex manuals on bookshelves these days

While the original Joy of Sex may have been a revolutionary document when it was published in 1972, the new edition, despite some revisions and additions, is more kitchy than cutting edge. Some people may appreciate the simple, bland, accepting attitude of the book, but many will likely find the outdated tone and back-to-basics philosophy more entertaining than informative. It's hard to take serious advice from a book which categorizes oral sex into a chapter entitled "Sauces and Pickles" instead of in with the "Appetizers" and "Main Courses" that comprise the rest of the book.

Granted, it can be difficult to abide by the ever-multiplying prescriptions of political correctness, but the new 2002 edition makes several gaffes so glaring one wonders whether the editors even read some of the chapters. The chapter on sexual positions includes a rear-entry position offensively titled "The Negress." The "girls" of the original edition have become "women" in the revised edition, but that's as far as the revisions go to equalize men and women in the book. What was considered progressive in 1972 now feels stale, cheesy, and occasionally offensive.

If the purple pages and pink font of the revised edition are meant to imbue a sensual feel, they only add to the 1970's, breathy, ultimately creepy feel of the book. This is the kind of sex manual that Grandma and Grandpa might find enlightening and enjoyable. Anyone younger would be better off with any one of the truly up-to-date, enlightened sex books lining bookstore shelves today.

8 of 9 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 (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The 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.