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Mary Roach

Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex Hardcover – March 17, 2008

by Mary Roach (Author)

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The best-selling author of Stiff turns her outrageous curiosity and infectious wit on the most alluring scientific subject of all: sex.

The study of sexual physiology―what happens, and why, and how to make it happen better―has been a paying career or a diverting sideline for scientists as far-ranging as Leonardo da Vinci and James Watson. The research has taken place behind the closed doors of laboratories, brothels, MRI centers, pig farms, sex-toy R&D labs, and Alfred Kinsey’s attic. Mary Roach, “the funniest science writer in the country” (Burkhard Bilger of The New Yorker), devoted the past two years to stepping behind those doors. Can a person think herself to orgasm? Can a dead man get an erection? Is vaginal orgasm a myth? Why doesn’t Viagra help women―or, for that matter, pandas? In Bonk, Roach shows us how and why sexual arousal and orgasm, two of the most complex, delightful, and amazing scientific phenomena on earth, can be so hard to achieve and what science is doing to slowly make the bedroom a more satisfying place.

Print length

320 pages
Language

English
Publisher

W. W. Norton & Co.
Publication date

March 17, 2008
Dimensions

5.9 x 1.1 x 8.6 inches
ISBN-10

0393064646
ISBN-13

978-0310278399
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Roach is not like other science writers. She doesn't write about genes or black holes or Schrödinger's cat. Instead, she ventures out to the fringes of science, where the oddballs ponder how cadavers decay (in her debut, Stiff) and whether you can weigh a person's soul (in Spook). Now she explores the sexiest subject of all: sex, and such questions as, what is an orgasm? How is it possible for paraplegics to have them? What does woman want, and can a man give it to her if her clitoris is too far from her vagina? At times the narrative feels insubstantial and digressive (how much do you need to know about inseminating sows?), but Roach's ever-present eye and ear for the absurd and her loopy sense of humor make her a delectable guide through this unesteemed scientific outback. The payoff comes with subjects like female orgasm (yes, it's complicated), and characters like Ahmed Shafik, who defies Cairo's religious repressiveness to conduct his sex research. Roach's forays offer fascinating evidence of the full range of human weirdness, the nonsense that has often passed for medical science and, more poignantly, the extreme lengths to which people will go to find sexual satisfaction. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* The New Yorker dubbed Roach “the funniest science writer in the country.” OK, maybe there’s not a lot of competition. But even if there were thousands of science-humor writers, she would be the sidesplitting favorite. Of course, she chooses good subjects: cadavers in Stiff (2003), ghosts in Spook (2005), and now a genuinely fertile topic in Bonk. As Roach points out, scientists studying sex are often treated with disdain, as though there is something inherently suspicious about the enterprise. Yet through understanding the anatomy, physiology, and psychology of sexual response, scientists can help us toward greater marital and nonmarital happiness. Such altruistic intentions, which the book shares, aren’t the wellspring of its appeal, however. That lies in the breezy tone in which Roach describes erectile dysfunction among polygamists, penis cameras, relative organ sizes and enhancement devices, and dozens of other titillating subjects. Not to be missed: the martial art of yin diao gung (“genitals hanging kung fu”), monkey sex athletes, and the licensing of porn stars’ genitals for blow-up reproductions. To stay on the ethical side of human-subjects experimentation, Roach offers herself as research subject several times, resulting in some of her best writing. --Patricia Monaghan

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ W. W. Norton & Co. (March 17, 2008)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 320 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0393064646
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0310278399
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 15.2 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.9 x 1.1 x 8.6 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #460,402 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #717 in Anatomy (Books)
- #740 in Psychology & Counseling Books on Sexuality
- #1,761 in Sex & Sexuality

Customer Reviews:
547 ratings

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Mary Roach

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Mary Roach is the author of Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans at War, Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void, Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex, Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife, and Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers. Her writing has appeared in Outside, Wired, National Geographic, and the New York Times Magazine, among others. She lives in Oakland, California.

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5

547 global ratings

5 star		56%
4 star		26%
3 star		11%
2 star		4%
1 star		3%

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Paul E. Robichaux

hilarious and educational

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 17, 2022

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I love Mary Roach’s writing. This book blends her trademark humor with science in a way that no other writer could quite duplicate. Brava!

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Dousey

Wonderfully, witty, insightful and funny

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on April 28, 2013

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Just take the following except "I sent Dr. Deng an email asking permission to come to London to observe the first scan. He wrote back immediately.
Dear Ms. Roach, Many thanks for your interest in our research. You are welcome to interview me in London. ... However, to arrange a new in-action would be very difficult, mainly due to the difficulty in recruiting volunteers. If your organization is able to recruit brave couple(s) for an intimate (but noninvasive) study, I would be happy to arrange and perform one.
My organization gave some thought to this. What couple would do this? More direly, who wanted to pay the three or four thousand dollars it would cost to fly them both to London and put them up in a nice hotel? My organization balked. It called its husband. "You know how you were saying you haven't been to Europe in twenty-five years?" ..."
or

"The Upsuck Chronicles: Does orgasm boost fertility, and what do pigs know about it?"
The inseminators wear white. Their coveralls are white and their boots are white, and they themselves are white, too, it being the tail end of a long, dark winter in Denmark. Their names are Martin, Morten, and Thomas, and they have twenty sows to inseminate before noon. An informal competition exists among the inseminators of Øeslevgaard Farm, I am told—not to inseminate more sows than anyone else, but to inseminate them better. To produce the most piglets.
To win requires patience and finesse in an area few men know anything about: the titillation of the female pig. Research by the Department for Nutrition and Reproduction at Denmark's National Committee for Pig Production showed that sexually stimulating a sow while you artificially inseminate her leads to a six percent improvement in fertility. This in turn led to a government-backed Five-Point Stimulation Plan for pig farmers, complete with instructional DVD and four-color posters to tack on barn walls. . . .
Martin, Morten, and Thomas are in the break room, eating bread with jam and drinking coffee from a slim steel thermos. They are uncomfortable speaking in English, and I speak no Danish. We are dependent on Anne Marie Hedeboe, a visiting pig production researcher whose colleague Mads Thor Madsen drafted the Five-Point Stimulation Plan for sows. The mood in the room is a little starched. I called Morten Martin. I referred to the owner of the farm as "Boss Man," which in Danish means "snot." Unspoken questions hover in the air: Do you find it arousing to stimulate a sow? How often are young male farm workers caught getting fresh with the stock? For their part, the inseminators must be wondering why on earth I've come here.
I could not adequately explain to them, but I will explain to you. Please don't worry. This chapter is not about pig sex. It is about female orgasm and whether it serves a purpose outside the realm of pleasure. What is accepted dogma in the pig community—that the uterine contractions caused by stimulation and/or orgasm draw in the sperm and boost the odds of conception—was for hundreds of years the subject of lively debate in medical circles. You don't hear much these days about uterine "upsuck" - or "insuck," as it was also known— and I'm wondering: Do the pigs know something we don't know?

3 people found this helpful

Helpful

Karen Lea Hansen

Another Entertaining Read by Roach

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 6, 2013

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I love scientist turned writer, Mary Roach. When I read her books, I feel like I'm in that college class with the professor that is such a charismatic lecturer, that any subject automatically becomes fascinating. She has a great way of making scientific subject accessible and entertaining for any reader.

I've read several of Roach's books, including my favorite, "Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers" and she is a author that I can always count on to churn our a great read. Although published in 2008, "Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex", just made it way to my TBR list. I actually purchased it on my Kindle following a death in the family, because I knew that Roach's unique mix of humor and education would provide a good distraction during a tough time. It worked.

In Bonk, Roach explores various facets of sex research. Although Kinsey, Masters and Johnson are all key players, Roach goes beyond the usual suspects to bring a broader range to the topic, including current research being conducted around the world. Sex research can be a difficult arena in which to find willing participants and Roach often finds herself (and her husband) getting directly involved. It's proper research and her husband got a free trip to Europe!

As with her other books, there are many shocking tid-bits and facts. It's one of those reads where you find yourself constantly wanting to read aloud sections of the book to whomever is in close proximity, because it's too good not to share.

In particular, I found the sections on the penis transplants to be particularly fascinating and often grotesque. Some of the sex toys and aids on the market that Roach details are quite bizarre and funny. She, without a hint of embarrassment, gets to the bottom of certain obscure patents and their creators. I'm quite certain that she had trouble keeping a straight face during some of the conversations, especially with the devices that don't have sound scientific backing.

This is book has great sections for those interested in animal behaviorism, specifically primatology.

Honestly, this probably would not be a good pick for someone who is sensitive or shy about discussing sex. It's graphic. Roach isn't trying to go for shock value, but she does explain things in a frank manner. I appreciate her approach and found much of this book to be very interesting. I highly recommend Bonk and Roach's other books.

Please visit my blog for more reviews and thoughts.

13 people found this helpful

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Dave. Baldry

Interesting

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on October 17, 2021

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First time I have read one of the authors books.Enjoyed it.Lots of scientific facts with humour also thrown in.
If I am honest , I prefer the book "A curious history of sex".
Wouldn't read it again , but a good read though

Peardrop

Read and enjoy

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on January 28, 2016

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Very interesting book.

Dr. Tim Parker

Typical Roach; informative and funny

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on February 9, 2021

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I guess it seemed inevitable that Mary Roach would tackle the subject of sex after her earlier books, and the result is as expected: informative and funny. She traces some of the historical hang-ups, obsessions, and quackery around the subject of sex and arousal in a straight-forward way, interspersed by commentary and additional information in footnotes (as usual), and does so without beating around the bush (sorry!). Some of the anecdotes are hilarious, but everyone who reads this book (a lot of readers may feel embarrassed, I suspect) will learn more about this badly-understood and communicated subject. While I enjoyed Grunt more, I did enjoy reading Bonk, and learned quite a bit along the way. And had a good laugh or two!

One person found this helpful

Christopher R. Siddle

Bonk is a very funny book.

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on August 7, 2016

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I giggled and sometimes bellowed with laughter throughout Bonk. Although this is only the second book I have read by Mary Roach, I think I am a fan. She knows interesting information when she finds it and has an excellent ability to take the most dryly written scientific literature and turn it into a fascinating account of researchers seeking the truth about sex. Her trade mark wit and wise cracking keep the reader on his toes.

A. Magana

Humorístico y honesto

Reviewed in Mexico 🇲🇽 on June 3, 2021

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Gratamente entretenido e ilustrativo. A ratos los términos resultan difíciles de traducir, pero en general se disfruta y hay muchos datos sorprendentes.

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