Behind its tongue-in-cheek "plain brown wrapper" cover, this unique book offers a thorough compilation of what modern science, from biomechanics to neurochemistry, knows about the secrets of orgasm. The three coauthors—neuroscientist Komisaruk, endocrinologist Beyers-Flores and sexuality researcher Whipple (coauthor of The G-Spot and Other Discoveries About Human Sexuality
)—begin with a short overview of the role of hormones and the nervous system, as well as how the body changes during orgasm. Later chapters go into greater detail, describing the connection between the brain and genitals, and how various factors, from aging and physical condition to drugs, disorders and diseases, affect sexual response and orgasm. While some of the information is fairly common knowledge (the connection between antidepressants and reduced orgasmic response, for example), other topics, such as "phantom" orgasms in men and women with spinal cord injuries, orgasmic "auras" experienced by some epileptics and sexual response in transgendered individuals, provide fascinating glimpses into the complex and subtle interaction of brain and body in this most intimate and euphoric of states. The authors do a good job of keeping technical discussion at or near the layperson's level, and an extensive bibliography provides a wealth of resources for further investigation of this intriguing topic. (Nov.)
