John Heidenry

They said that the birth control pill would change everything. It almost did, for a decade or two, until STDs, libidinal burnout, and the Meese Commission put a stop to the fun. This book is a historical overview of those years, with elements of sociology and sexology. A history of the changes, good and bad, during “the giddy decade” when sex came out of the closet. Changes in sexual mores. Changes in hemlines and permissiveness. The growth of the pornography industry. The evolution of show more porn from artful erotica to “full-frontal” and hard core. Women’s liberation, LGBT liberation. Free-love cults, swinging clubs, wife swapping, orgies and group sex. Reactions to the changes from the Religious Right and radical feminists.

Here are discussions of censorship, adultery, abortion, AIDS, prostitution, bizarre sex practices, and many other topics. Sex researchers such as Masters and Johnson. Pornographers and porn actors. Is pornography demeaning to women? Does it incite to rape? Does the Mafia control the porn business? Is sex therapy legitimate or a scam? Can sexual orientation be changed by therapy? How prevalent is homosexuality? These are only a few of the issues discussed. Are sex surveys such as the Kinsey Report to be believed?

Some interesting stats from various surveys:
One in three or four women had an abortion. (page 125)
Three out of ten pregnancies ended in abortions. (122)
Two thirds of white males had sex with prostitutes. (21)
Median number of sex partners over a lifetime: 7.3. (354)
Median frequency of intercourse: once per week. (354)

The author calls for sexual freedom, a permanent sexual revolution emancipated from false inhibitions, guilt, and hang-ups. He wants to rescue sexuality from the grips of “politicians, clergies, and ideologues.” This book is “a call to arms against … the sexual tyranny that men continue to impose on women.” It covers human sexuality from just about every angle, normal and abnormal. It is fair and sympathetic to sexual minorities.

Recommended to readers who would like to understand those years and those changes. Could be better organized but the research is good and the writing is excellent. The topic is interesting, though sordid at times. Not recommended to prudes. I wish the type fonts were larger and easier to read, but they are readable. Indexed and sourced, but no illustrations. show less

Carl Hall had a great fall. The scion of a prominent family in my mother's hometown of Trading Post, Kansas (his grandfather Austin survived the Marais des Cygnes border massacre) had a less-than-stellar career in the Marines, including a stretch in the Quantico brig, then ran off with Irene Holmes, who watched him squander his fortune. Things did not improve when Irene left. After robbing a series of cab drivers at gunpoint, Missouri sent him to the state pen, where he hatched a scheme to show more kidnap Bobby Greenlease, nephew of a former military school classmate. The subtitle is a spoiler: Hall hooks up with a hooker and kills their captive by page 7. This account of the notorious 1953 case follows their boozy improvisations to collect a $600,000 ransom. Many clues suggest that no one fares well. show less

Other reviewers are right; this is a pretty dry, unimaginative retelling of the Greenlease kidnapping. I kept waiting for the gun that appears in the first act to go off in the third act but no, there really are just a lot of inconsequential facts included for the sake of inclusion. Still I love true crime and this is a really well researched book. It's set between Hyde Park, Mission Hills and St. Louis, places where I live, work, and have lived (respectively) so it's hard for me not to take show more interest. A good but not great book. show less

An entertaining read for any baseball fan. It transcends the game, into personalities, business and social conditions, historical context, etc. The players are real human beings, warts and all, not just names on a score card. As Joe Garagiola would say, these guys didn’t run on batteries. Dizzy Dean may have been a 30-game winner but he was really just a big kid at heart. “A great big boy,” said his wife. He did have legitimate grievances, however, as no baseball team today would show more exploit a pitcher’s arm as the Cardinals did his. He had a right to complain of arm soreness.

This was “the most colorful team in the history of baseball,” says author Heidenry, and he has a point. With Ripper playing first base and Pepper playing third, with “The Lip” at shortstop and “The Flash” at second. With Spud behind the plate and Ducky-Wucky in the outfield, this team had some serious color! The pitching rotation mostly consisted of Dizzy and Daffy, with Tex and Wild Bill thrown in for good measure.

The first chapter is about Branch Rickey, the second is about the Dean Brothers. The rest of the book recaps the 1934 pennant race and World Series, punctuated by amusing anecdotes about the antics of a wild bunch of jokers and alpha males! A fun read for any baseball fan, especially those partial to St. Louis. Includes a photo section, index, and bibliography. show less