- Mass Market Paperback: 368 pages
- Publisher: Penguin Paperbacks; Reprint edition (Jan 28 2003)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0142002593
- ISBN-13: 978-0142002599
- Product Dimensions: 20.8 x 13 x 2.3 cm
- Shipping Weight: 295 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
#331,189 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #49 in Books > Science > Medicine > Internal Medicine > Urology
- #50 in Books > Medicine > Internal Medicine > Urology
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon
David M. Friedman's A Mind of Its Own is a cultural examination of the penis, from ancient Sumer to the present. Friedman convincingly suggests that humankind's various and contradictory attitudes toward the penis have been instrumental in mapping the course of both Western civilization and world history.
Friedman begins with pagan attitudes: ancient Greeks considered the penis a measure of a man's proximity to "divine power," while the Romans, whose generals were known to promote soldiers based on penis size, saw it as an indicator of earthly strength. Thanks to the spread of Christianity, the "sacred staff became the demon rod"--a fearful manifestation of the devil. Theology gave way, grudgingly, to science. In the Renaissance, anatomical discoveries allowed for the possibility that this "agent of death" was, in fact, only a "blameless instrument of reproduction." Subsequent chapters discuss the penis's role as a racial yardstick; its "defining role in human personality" as asserted by Freud; its politicization; and finally, through the likes of Viagra, its objectification as a "thing ... impervious to religious teachings, psychological insights, racial stereotypes and feminist criticism."
Friedman's study of what he calls the "symbolic muscle" is filled with fascinating side trips (castration cults, ancient graffiti, the anti-masturbation "semen-retention movement," aphrodisiacs through the ages, and, to modern eyes, risible medical practices with the likes of monkey glands), as well as a rich cast of characters (Leonardo da Vinci, John Kellogg of cornflake fame, Kate Millet, Clarence Thomas, and Walt Whitman). The book is informal, but well researched (and documented), entertaining but not cute, wide-ranging but not sketchy, and simultaneously irreverent and respectful. --H. O'Billovitch --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Publishers Weekly
"Over time, the penis has been deified, demonized, secularized, racialized, psychoanalyzed, politicized and, finally, medicalized," declares freelance journalist Friedman in a serious yet entertaining book that weaves together an enormous amount of material. In the Greek and Roman worlds, statues of figures with erections were commonplace, he observes, though by the Christian era, the penis had become a source of evil and weakness. Doctors and scientists from da Vinci onward "deflat[ed] the religious rhetoric" and scrutinized the male organ sometimes with untoward results, as when American "semen science" led to the creation of antimasturbation products such as Graham crackers. Western man's fear of the African phallus undergirded colonialism and slavery, and resonates to this day, Friedman argues, as was evident in the case of Clarence Thomas. If some of Freud's case histories might be questioned, Friedman notes how the psychoanalytic interpretation enduringly places the penis and associated anxieties at the fulcrum of society. The rise of feminism put the penis in its place, as The Hite Report pointed out the limits of conventional intercourse in moving women to orgasm, and as Andrea Dworkin exposed penile pathology though the author concludes that male sexuality arises more out of evolutionary strategy than misogyny. His final and liveliest chapter concerns the medicalization of the penis, culminating in Viagra. Even though Friedman quotes a (female) sex therapist on the limits of such drugs, he concludes optimistically that "the erection industry" has performed a paradigm shift, allowing man to impose his will below his belt. The book has a few gaps -- there's little about the gay penis -- but it should reign as the seminal treatment of this topic (and inspire many more puns).
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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First Sentence
Unlike her life, Anna Pappenheimer's death was a public event. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Unlike her life, Anna Pappenheimer's death was a public event. Read the first page
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Concordance
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Got Penis?,
By
This review is from: Mind Of Its Own (Mass Market Paperback)
Ok, those who get squeamish over penis need not apply here. This book is covered in it from cover to cover, and men and women alike will find this an interesting dissection of it. The author gives us a history lesson in the penis from ancient times to the current day erectile dysfunction boom. He focuses quite a bit on Mr. Frued, obviously for the fact that this man was penile fixed and injected his theories right into modern day psychology textbooks. I found the most interesting part regarding the racial penis, as it was a new look at racism in America and abroad.I was a bit disappointed that the book didn't include much pop culture regarding the penis. However, the areas the author chose to look at were very appropriate and provided new insight on that organ both men and women find fascinating.
5.0 out of 5 stars
More Than Expected,
By
This review is from: Mind Of Its Own (Mass Market Paperback)
I had seen this book on Amazon before and by-passed it, thinking that it would be little more than an anthology of dick stories, past and present. Do not make that mistake. This is a well-researched book that investigates the religious, scientific, racial, political and psychological dimensions - pun intended- of the penis throughout Western History, from Ancient Greece to Viagra. On the other hand, do not fret that it is a dry tome;the author presents the material in an entertaining manner with just the right amount of ribaldry. So interesting is the book that I read the entire 300+ pages in two sittings.
5.0 out of 5 stars
a wonderful and wonderfully thorough book,
By A Customer
This review is from: Mind Of Its Own (Mass Market Paperback)
it's not often i pick up a non-fiction book as engrossing and entertaining as this one. it was like a novel i didn't want to put down until i finished it. friedman presents a wonderfully detailed overview of, as the title promises, the cultural history of the penis. this includes the place of the penis in religious history, freudian psychoanalysis, feminist theory, racism, and psychopharmacology. the author provides enough background and context that it's like reading a well-constructued primer on each of those subject areas. most highly recommended!
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