book for "brainiacs," but not necessarily for better boudoir actionAugust 24, 2007 8 out of 11 found this review helpful
This is a nice read, with a good blend of humor, research on the brain and hormones in our body, and the doctor's professional and personal experiences w/ others. Amen does a good job delivering his, and others', brain research, in a way anyone can understand. He is, however, a bit old-fashioned in his views on evolutionary thinking and gender stereotypes. There is also the occasional slip up on sex info., e.g., the claim that self-pleasuring can lead to excessive or addictive activity in vulnerable people. It's a pleasant read, however, if your main aim is to learn about the brain's role in passionate desire, attraction, and love.
It all starts in your headAugust 23, 2007 1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Not too much new but very thorough. Brain chemicals seem to be what causes attraction. And we thought we were picking our partners. Mother Nature is the real decider.
ex-biochemist review - easily accessible, fascinating...July 28, 2007 22 out of 23 found this review helpful
This is an excellent and very accessible book that primarily looks at what happens in the brain during love, lust, romance, paraphilias, etc. It has a lot of information in it, but it is not overly technical and accessible to the average person. Dr. Amen has a way of simplifying complicated concepts and weaving them into an engaging narrative.
What this book will give you as an understanding of the various parts of the brain and the role they play in our sex lives. It also includes supplements that could be helpful when some areas are over or under active and even typical medications that are used.
The scope of the book is pretty large and covers things like impulsive thoughts, sexual addiction, paraphelias (fetishes), cheating behavior, etc. Anyone who has a sex life will find it very interesting and informative and it will also help you to understand yourself.
Two complimentary books to this one that I highly recommend are: The Evolution of Desire: Strategies of Human Mating and The Erotic Mind: Unlocking the Inner Sources of Passion and Fulfillment. These books cover the psychology and some of the evolutionary patterns that gave rise to the way we are hardwired around sex. You can read my review and other reviews to get a better sense of the content, I can't do either book justice in this small space.
Disappointing. Waste of time.March 16, 2007 6 out of 37 found this review helpful
The author wrote a book on sexuality, while considerably lacking knowledge about women and female sexuality.
Not too sexy hereFebruary 18, 2007 26 out of 63 found this review helpful
Pat Califa wrote, "Our culture insists on sexual uniformity and does not acknowledge any neutral difference only crimes, sins, disease and mistakes."
Such we see represented in Dr. Amen's book. Dr. Amen makes reference to what he considers normal sexually in his book. Like so many clinicians and diastognicians his normality is of a vanilla world. Anything outside of that is referred to as an imbalance in the brain or a disorder. My own research has been focused on debunking the myths about sexuality that are perpetuated in this book. The chapter on addictions and fetishes lacks any creative thinking whatsoever. Unfortunately I returned the book to the bookstore due to the limited thinking represented here.
