Human sexuality resists simple or facile evaluations and no generalization can do justice to the vast inventory of sexual feelings, practices, or behaviors. Our sexuality is not only a source of joy, wonderment, emotional release, and happiness, but also of frustration, revenge, intimidation, and deadly power. Coming to grips with our sexuality is no easy task, for our attempts to understand ourselves, to distinguish between reality and illusion, are mired in mythologies of the past, misinformation, moral and religious imperatives, lack of scientific knowledge, and wishful thinking. By tracing the development of our understanding Friction and Fantasy: Opening Pandora’s Box presents a historically informed way of trying to make sense of one of the most emblematic aspects of our humanity. Beginning with the seemingly simple query what is sex, Friction and Fantasy: Opening Pandora’s Box provides for the general reader a wide ranging exploration of the complexities and mysteries of our multidimensional sexual universe – sexual fantasies, why we have sex, the mythologies of our sexual anatomy, love, sexual desire and arousal, orgasm in females and males, the taboo subject of solitary sex, the controversies regarding erotic preference and gender diversity, unusual sexual practices, sexual violence (rape, pedophilia and child sexual abuse), and the dilemmas of sexual discontent. Blending scientific and historical perspectives with literary commentaries, Friction and Fantasy: Opening Pandora’s Box offers a wealth of information not easily available to the general reader in a stimulating and thought-provoking manner.

Becoming Female and Male: Our Extraordinary and Perilous Journey focuses on critical aspects in the development and biology of our reproductive system. A wealth of information not readily available to the general reader is complemented with a rich assortment of historical perspectives and commentaries. It begins with the amazingly complex, seemingly miraculous processed that lead to the formation of eggs and sperm, follows the fetal development of the genital tissues, the post-pubertal reproductive functions of females and males, the pubertal transition, and finally our reproductive twilight. The next section focuses on fertilization and implantation, birth and lactation, and exciting new studies relating the origins of chronic adult diseases to our pre-birth environment in the womb. The third section covers pregnancy loss and birth defects, while the final section reviews birth control methods, the causes of infertility and the new growth industry – assisted reproduction. In addition, three appendices supplement the main text and provide more detailed information about sex chromosomes, mutations, hormonal integrations of the reproductive system, and disorders of sexual development.