Who can resist Richard Gordon’s cheeky romp through The Alarming History of
Sex? (Sinclair-Stevenson, £20, ISBN 1 85619 493 0). This so-called
“history” really comprises a haphazard and Anglocentric anthology of the
author’s favourite stories and titbits on the subject. Elizabeth I’s virginity,
Jack the Ripper, Freud and the suffragettes all jostle for an equal say. Expect
laughter, not titillation, and a deceptively informative foray into humanity’s
favourite subject.
More from New ˾þ
Explore the latest news, articles and features

Life
The Selfish Gene at 50: Why Dawkins’s evolution classic still holds up
Features

Life
Intoxicating and astonishing: Why 'The Selfish Gene' almost never was
Features

Comment
After news about Oliver Sacks's "lies", we revisit his best-loved book
Culture

Life
We may finally know why dinosaurs like T. rex evolved tiny arms
News
Popular articles
Trending New ˾þ articles
1
The ‘doomsday’ glacier’s giant ice shelf is about to break away
2
We may finally know why dinosaurs like T. rex evolved tiny arms
3
The distant world that is our best hope of finding alien life
4
Mystery of the ancient giant stone jars of Laos may have been solved
5
Why autism pioneer Uta Frith wants to dismantle the spectrum
6
The 3 things you need to know about protein, according to an expert
7
How I used psychology to come back from the worst year of my life
8
Solar farm on the ocean outperforms land-based solar in Taiwan
9
Rebooting stem cells builds aged muscles and assists injury recovery
10
Odd “butterfly” molecule could lead to new parts of the quantum realm