Sex, the Illustrated History: Through Time, Religion and Culture

Book excerpt: Sex, The Illustrated History, Volume I, begins a daring exploration of human sexuality from the ancient to the modern world. Revealed are sexual practices and beliefs previously omitted or obscured from all historical telling. In a scathing condemnation of religion and its control of sex, the book explores complex relationships between spirituality and sexuality. The supremacy of the mother goddess throughout most of human existence, and her relatively recent fall, is detailed in both word and image. These pages share graphic erotic art works and explicit literary excerpts, painstakingly culled from the hidden treasure trove of cultures throughout history. Sex, The Illustrated History, traces sexual attitudes from the transcendent to the bizarre throughout the worlds cultures. The often explicit illustrations are linked by historical and anthropological content, inviting the reader to experience sexuality through varied and often shocking cultural lenses. Over 300 images have been gathered by the author, in his travels and studies of world cultures. An encyclopedic tour of the sexuality of humankind!