Sex is a lot of fun. To quote Maud Lebowski, "it can be a natural, zesty enterprise." It is also, to far too many of the world's population, a source of taboo, shame, and fear. Because of this, surprisingly little is known about what makes the human nether regions tick. Researchers who try to study sex cannot get funding unless they are being funded by a drug company to cure a specific ailment, and even then funding agencies are squeamish.

Mary Roach delves into the small world of sex research, interviewing several of the scientists who have managed to set up labs to study sex. Why we do it, what happens when we do it, and why it sometimes goes horribly wrong and how to fix it when it does. She also reviews the euphemism heavy sex studies from the Victorian era up into the 60's and 70's when anyone wanting to understand more about sex was labeled a pervert, a deviant, a pornographer, or some combination thereof, and she does so with disarming humor and wit. In several instances, she even becomes a participant in the various sex studies along with her reluctant but good, giving, and game husband and gives a firsthand account of what it is like to have sex in a laboratory and how it is completely unlike having sex at home.

I learned a lot from this book, and had a very difficult time putting it down. I highly recommend that anyone should check their inhibitions at the door and pick up a copy. ( )

This book left me feeling that science still doesn't understand sex, even just the mechanics of the act. Research is based not so much on science itself but on what will sell a medical treatment or drug. Mary Raoch's writing is fabulous as always. I particularly enjoyed her random notes.

Good company on a long flight. Well-researched, with the occasional one-liner that will cause you to laugh out loud. In public. Be warned. ( )

I thought this book was a lot of fun. I giggled out loud more than once while reading it and felt the need to share facts I picked up with whoever happened to be sitting near me. Roach has a great way of mixing scientific facts with hilarious personal experiences that will have you learning and laughing at the same time. ( )

I really dug Ms. Roach's first book, Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, and had fun with her second book, Spook: Science Tackles The Afterlife. But I found this one a little more put-downable. I read it over several months in various-sized chunks. Some of the chapters made me wrinkle my nose and go "ewww" and I did a little skipping here and there since I wasn't all that interested in learning about people doing what sounds like tortuous things to their penis. I don't need that. And some of the people she interviews are... a bit nutty. I did learn some stuff though, a good deal of it pretty interesting and also it's stuff that people never talk about (like the bit about what happens to rape victims). I also learned that humans are the only ones shy about sex. Chimpanzees will calmly stare you in the face as they are flogging their carrot. That might be a bit off-putting. So, all-in-all, I'd say this book was a mixed bag. But this is probably my only review to include the phrase "flogging their carrot." For now. ( )