The Pleasure's All Mine

'For those with an erudite interest in debauchery, this latest from author, historian, and sex scholar Peakman is just the ticket... Peakman's broad overview is stunning, sweeping, and very carefully nonjudgmental. She recounts the history of each so-called perversion from its earliest recorded occurrence through the present, showing how the shifting mores of society color our views on this endlessly fascinating subject ... Exhaustively researched and packed with startling images, this work is a fact-filled, entertaining read for sex history neophytes and scholars alike.' - Library Journal 'Throughout history, sexual norms have shifted drastically: an act that is seen as deviant at one time may be widely accepted at another. Peakman argues that sexual acts have not changed much through the ages, but the cultural response to them has. Today, discussions about sexual preferences are still taboo in many parts of the world, and many opinions are still colored by society's long-held beliefs ... This is a history for the general reader, primarily covering Western thought; it's also a wonderful reference source for sexual studies and research ... Peakman asks readers to think about how society dictates their own opinions, and her work helps pave the way for more open discussions of sexuality in the future.' - Publishers' Weekly 'Serious, historically informed, and as close to an exhaustive account as we are likely ever to see of the extravagant creativity that humans have invested in sex. A masterpiece.' - Thomas W. Laqueur, Helen Fawcett Distinguished Professor in the Department of History, University of California, Berkeley