Guide to Getting It On, 5th Edition (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

Review

A godsend because it is warm, funny, irreverent and everything that sex should be! -- Kathryn Hall, Ph.D., sex therapist and author 2005

Blows all other sex guides out of the water! -- Toys in Babeland, 2006

If you're going to own just one instructional book about sex, this is the one. Funny, hip, and informative, it's paced with advice about what to put where and covers every topic a couple could possibly be curious about. -- Women's Health Magazine Sex Award Winner, March 2007

In our vast library of sex books, this is by far and away the most human, enlightening and entertaining read of the lot. I'll be recommending it until my keyboard wears out. -- Cosmomopolitan Magazine, UK

The most comprehensive sex guide in the world. I can recommend it to pretty much everyone who owns genitals.... -- Violet Blue, best-selling sex book author and sex educator, 2004

You've never read a manual as warm, liberating and potentially sex-life-changing as the Guide to Getting It On!. Neither had anyone in our office--which may be why our copies keep disappearing. -- Oprah Magazine, July 2007

Product Description

When it comes to sex, this book is the pants-down favorite from dorm rooms to bedrooms across the planet. You will be hard-pressed to find a single page of this down-to-earth boinking bible that doesn't bring a smile, a blush of crimson, or a moment of awe.

Few books on sex provide such a satisfying link between the cutting edge of science and the emotions that accompany love and sex. Perhaps that's why The Guide has won five awards, has been translated into 12 languages, and is a favorite among sex educators and therapists worldwide.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 854 pages
• Publisher: Goofy Foot Press; 5th edition (July 25, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1885535694
• ISBN-13: 978-1885535696
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7 x 2.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (106 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #123,088 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

263 of 267 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great "Sex Book" and a "Great Sex" book, February 18, 2002

By	Modemac (Cambridge, MA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Guide to Getting It On! (The Universe's Coolest and Most Informative Book About Sex) (Paperback)

Among the many lovely items I received from my Queen on Valentine's Day was this: "The Guide To Getting It On!" by Paul Joannides, published in 2000 by Goofy Foot Press. This is a huge 698-page oversized paperback book that covers just about every sex topic you can think of, with an especial emphasis on every aspect of The Deed itself. It's delightfully light-hearted and yet it's amazingly informative, discussing all sorts of topics in a frank, playful style that makes it a delight to read. Sample chapters in the book include:

Chapt. 9 - Sunsets, Orgasms, & Hand Grenades. Having an orgasm, the different types of orgasms a person can have (an orgasm in two-person sex usually doesn't feel like an orgasm from masturbation, for instance), faking orgasms, how it feels to different people.

Oral Sex - Chapt. 17 - Popsicles & Penises and Chapt. 18 - Vulvas & Honey Pots. Techniques on giving (and receiving) head, why different people don't taste the same, beard burn, using your teeth, advice for men from females (and for women from men), different positions.

Chapt. 34 - Techno Breasts and Weenie Angst - feeling inadequate about your body, and how to feel better because you're not a Playboy/girl model.

Plus: Getting naked, massages, nipples, sex fantasies, birth control (all types, including abstinence), pregnancy, sex laws, goofy sex terms, legitimate sex terms, and much much MUCH more.

Most of the book is large text, but there are many drawn illustrations (not photos), most of which are of people smiling and enjoying themselves as they illustrate whatever the current chapter is talking about. In fact, the whole book feels that way: it wants to make you smile, enjoy yourself, and have FUN with sex -- whatever sex-related topic you're trying to learn about.

After glancing through the book for the past couple of days, I'm
already convinced that this is the type of book that I'd like to leave in a semi-comspicuous place at home, and let my kids find it and look through it on their own when they get old enough to need to know about this stuff. It's witty, informative, not deceptive, and it tries to instill common sense as well: Have fun, help your partner have fun, and BE CAREFUL not to get into trouble (pregnancy, STD, break the law, etc.). Even if you've been doing it since you were old enough to know what "it" is, you'll probably still find some useful information in here.

In short, this book is well worth looking into. You may have trouble finding it at a used-book store, because it's a small-press publication; and I suspect that not many people are going to want to get rid of it after they buy it. But you might get lucky....

128 of 133 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!, November 4, 2000

By	Todd Hawley (San Francisco CA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Guide to Getting It On! (The Universe's Coolest and Most Informative Book About Sex) (Paperback)

The above is my response to this book. When I first started looking though it and reading some of what Paul Joannides has to say, I thought, "Right on!" And the more I read, the more I felt this way. Mr. Joannides deserves some kind of "Medal of Honor" for writing a comprehensive, non-judgmental and at times hip and irreverent look at the world of sexuality. He leaves virtually no topic uncovered. Dang, why wasn't a book like this around twenty years ago? I could have really used it back then! He also obviously put a great deal of effort and love into this book which spans almost 700 pages. Not only is it informative and humorous, but it gets its subject matter across in a down-to-earth and common-sense style. I also loved all the illustrations in the book....

This book in my humble opinion should be mandatory reading for every Human Sexuality class taught, it truly is that good. I lost count of all the various chapters in the book, but among them are [chapters on various types of sex] sex and aging, and a chapter about sex laws (and some of them are truly shocking). Most chapters also feature comments from readers of earlier editions of this book or those who filled out surveys on the publisher's web site; all of which are also highly informative and interesting.

I give this book five stars, only because I can't give it six. Highly recommended to anyone who wants to learn more about sex, relationships, what makes the "opposite gender" act the way they do, in other words virtually everyone!

55 of 59 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unflinching yet so accessible, March 28, 2003

By	A Month of Sundays "Kasheri" (Costa Mesa, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Guide to Getting It On! (The Universe's Coolest and Most Informative Book About Sex) (Paperback)

When it comes to sex guides, there is no shortage. Many are written just to titillate the reader. Many are a guidebook to kink and assume that the reader already knows the basics for more straightforward sexual fun. Some ridiculously romanticize while others read like a medical school text.

Paul Joannides' "The Guide to Getting It On!" is the ideal sex guide. It deals with the basics as well as the more adventuresome stuff. It presents health issues with honest clarity, but is never frightening or clinical. It is a thick tome, but a remarkably fast read. Joannides is thorough, yet concise.

This is the best book on the market dealing with this subject matter. The advice for how to bring up children with healthy, age appropriate views about sex is invaluable. The only problem I have with this book is that I wish I'd written it myself.

Buy this book with confidence. If you are a sex guide hobbyist, you'll love it. If you are a complete novice to the topic you'll love it. There's none better.