Masters of Sex : The Life and Times of William Masters and Virginia Johnson, the Couple Who Taught American How to Love

by Maier, Thomas

• ISBN13: 9780465003075
• ISBN10: 0465003079
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2009-04-13
• Publisher: Perseus Books Group

Summary

InMasters of Sex, critically acclaimed biographer Thomas Maier offers an unprecedented look at William Masters and Virginia Johnson, their pioneering studies of intimacy, and the sexual revolution they inspired. Masters and Johnson began their secret studies in a small Midwest laboratory, and soon became the nation's top experts on sex. Over the course of more than forty years, they analyzed and explained the secrets of orgasm, emotional fulfillment, and sexual dysfunction. But they divorced after twenty years amid a clash of success, betrayal, and jealousies.Weaving interviews with the notoriously private William Masters and the ambitious Virginia Johnson, Maier offers a titillating portrait of the legendary couple. Entertaining, revealing, and beautifully told, this groundbreaking book sheds light on the eternal mysteries of desire and intimacy, and their complicated roles in the American psyche.

Author Biography

Thomas Maier is a staff reporter at New York Newsday. He is also the author of the critically acclaimed Dr. Spock: An American Life, a New York Times Notable Book of the Year. He lives in East Northport, New York.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. xi
Golden Girl	p. 3
Heartland	p. 14
Mrs. Johnson	p. 22
Never Going Home	p. 30
A Wonder to Behold	p. 39
The Fertility Expert	p. 47
The Good Wife	p. 57
Academic Freedom	p. 66
Through the Peephole	p. 76
The Matrix	p. 87
The Experiment	p. 95
Volunteers	p. 103
Noah	p. 116
Masks	p. 121
Leaving School	p. 134
A Matter of Trust	p. 141
Revealing Secrets	p. 150
The Human Response	p. 156
The Excitement of Release	p. 171
Focusing Feelings	p. 176
Sexual Healing	p. 185
Surrogates	p. 196
Playboys and Patrons	p. 203
Repairing the Conjugal Bed	p. 211
The Scent of Love	p. 218
Betrayals	p. 225
The Marriage Compact	p. 231
Feminist Movement	p. 241
The Business of Sex	p. 252
The Pleasure Bond	p. 260
Guide to the Stars	p. 270
Conversion and Reversion	p. 281
The Promise of a Future	p. 299
Beauty and the Beast	p. 307
Crisis	p. 319
Breakup	p. 331
For the Roses	p. 339
Couples	p. 345
In Memoriam	p. 354
Forget-Me-Notes	p. 367
A Note on Sources	p. 377
Notes	p. 379
Selected Bibliography	p. 391
About the Author	p. 397
Index	p. 399
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