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 enlarge | Author: Mary Roach
Publisher: W. W. Norton
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
Buy New: $14.87
You Save: $10.08 (40%)
New (46) Used (11) Collectible (1) from $14.79
Rating:  69 reviews
Sales Rank: 2134
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Pages: 288
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 5.5 x 1.2
ISBN: 0393064646
Dewey Decimal Number: 612.6
EAN: 9780393064643
ASIN: 0393064646
Publication Date: April 7, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Showing reviews 66-69 of 69
 It's sex-ay (science) time! April 7, 2008
Kelly Garbato (Kearney, MO USA)
10 out of 15 found this review helpful
Kegels and paraclitoridiennes and Thrillhammers, oh my!
Popular science writer Mary Roach is no stranger to the business of taboo-busting; her previous works, STIFF: THE CURIOUS LIVES OF HUMAN CADAVERS and SPOOK: SCIENCE TACKLES THE AFTERLIFE are books one might hesitate to discuss in polite company. (The biology of "human soup" isn't exactly acceptable dinner conversation, now, is it?) Lucky for us, Mary Roach* is a curious and intrepid soul who's more than willing tread where many of us would rather not - and then pen a witty, sarcastically humorous account of her journey.
BONK: THE CURIOUS COUPLING OF SCIENCE AND SEX is Ms. Roach's latest foray into the dark nooks and crannies of the scientific community's attic. Starting with the 1800s, the author details the history of scientific inquiries into human and animal sexuality. In its infancy, sexual research was awkward and, at times, nonsensical; as understanding of human biology increased, the field of sexual science evolved. Nowhere is this more evident than in science's treatment of women and gender; whereas scientists once argued whether women could even have orgasms, they now quibble over the most efficient means of getting the ladyfolk there. Just as the development of sexual knowledge reflects the progression of science and the embrace of the scientific method, so too does it correspond to women's liberation and gender equality. Thus, a history of sex studies is a history of science and social movements.
All is not meta with Ms. Roach, however. In fact, her delight seems to be in the details. While her discussion does focus on some overarching topics and themes - including the history of research into and knowledge of sexuality; female and male anatomy and psychology, including the similarities and differences between the genders; the physiology of sex, and how one goes about documenting it; and technology's impact on sexuality - BONK is full of meandering tangents and interesting side notes. Though the asterisks are many, don't skip a one. While a few are a bit extraneous even for me, some of the juiciest tidbits are in the side notes.**
BONK is a popular science book that's suitable for both lay people and professionals alike. The science in BONK is presented in such a way that it's accessible and engaging, yet it isn't watered down, either. Ms. Roach has an engaging writing style and a biting sense of humor, making this a "science of sex" book quite unlike any other. At times sardonic, macabre and morbid, she just has a way of skewering sacred cows - she'll show you precisely how the hot dog is made before cajoling you into taking a bite.**** Like many gourmet dishes, Ms. Roach's brand of humor may not please every palate - but this doesn't make it any less of a delicacy.
While I enjoyed the book immensely, I do have to offer a caveat. If you're sensitive to images of animal suffering (more specifically, vivisection and factory farming), read BONK with caution. As with any "history of science" book, BONK contains scenes of gratuitous violence against animals. For example, one early study the author describes involved the decapitation of a female dog - while mating (!) - in order to study the mobility of the male's semen. It's pretty gruesome stuff, and while Ms. Roach is for the most part appropriately horrified, some of the more modern abuses are left unquestioned.
* Even the woman's name tickles my fancy. "Mary Roach." Roach clip, anyone?
** For example, I bet you didn't know that perforated postal stamps are a low-tech way to determine whether a man is medically (as opposed to psychologically) impotent. Just wrap a roll around the package in question, and ship it off for overnight delivery. If the stamps are torn upon morning pickup, said package is in working (physical) order.***
*** The USPS both knows of and endorses the practice, FYI.
**** Much in the same manner she cajoled her husband into bonking in an MRI machine in the name of science. Or so one might assume.*****
***** Pants off to you, Ed!
The Things We Do For "Love" April 5, 2008
Frederick S. Goethel (Central Valley, CA)
17 out of 18 found this review helpful
Author Mary Roach set out to find and write about sex research around the world (and about the yeilds of that research) and wound up following a lot of very strange paths. From a urologists office in Taipei to a sow furrowing operation in Denmark to a "toy" manufacturer in Chatsworth California, the author tracked down all leads that were presented to her and followed up to learn all there was about how the human anatomy works and why research on this subject is usually cloaked in euphemisms. At times she delves back into the 1800s to explain how we are where we are today and why.
To say the book is funny is an understatement. The author has a gift for puns and uses it to maximum potential, taking material that could be somewhat dry and turning it into page turning reading. If you are interested in the science of sex and love to laugh, this is a wonderful book that will not fail to deliver.
The Science Of Sex April 1, 2008
C. Hutton (East Coast, USA)
42 out of 47 found this review helpful
Ms Roach has written a hiliarious account of science in search of better sex. A lot of her discoveries fall into the category of "It seemed like a good idea at the time." The author of previous off the wall subjects like "Spook" (post-death exploration) and "Stiff" (dead bodies), she has the knack of finding obscure information that no one has ever heard of. While the book is verbally graphic, it is not porn. She injects herself into her story and her humor resembles the writer, P.J. O'Rourke.
were you ever in an MRI with a friend? March 31, 2008
David W. Straight (knoxville, tennessee United States)
128 out of 130 found this review helpful
This a truly great tale of a first-hand look at science and sex from both the inside and the outside! Mary Roach provides a humorous and often very personal view--both as a participant and observer--of humans, animals, and mechanical devices: there is much that you would never have imagined, and perhaps would rather never of heard of at all. She and her husband Ed have sex in a 20-inch diameter MRI tube in the interests of science. The doctor looks on, makes suggestions, and finally tells Ed "You may ejaculate now". The author also recounts the experiments by Kinsey is his attic many years ago and tries to track down the film footage.
The author's great sense of humor needs to be read to be believed. She spares no one, and particularly not herself or her husband. She travels to Taiwan to watch an implant operation. In one of the funniest parts[and this says a lot, since the book will have you howling a lot] she goes to Denmark to watch artificial insemination of sows. We know this happens with cows, and you might suppose that there's not much difference with pigs, but you'd be wrong, very wrong indeed. Suffice it to say that the best results occur, when, among other things best not mentioned here, the AI person lies down on the sow's back and fondles her teats during the process. You may never regard your morning sausage quite the same way again.
The author has a lot of asides that are a delight to read. If you usually skip the footnotes in a book, you'll miss a lot here. You'll learn a lot--for all the things that might seem frivolous, but which are not, the book is a scientific one. Roach has a curiosity, an appetite for knowledge, and has the capability that perhaps most scientists do not have, which is to mix science and humor. Stephen Gould was able to do this, but his humor was not as pervasive--his writing is, at a guess, 95% science at 5% humor, whereas with Roach it's more like 50-50. Martin Gardner's great Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science may be the closest similar work to Roach's book. This book is certainly not for everyone, and there are those who will be deeply offended, but for most it should be a real treat to read!
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