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A Mind of Its Own: A Cultural History of the Penis
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 573.656
EAN: 9780142002599
ISBN: 0142002593
Label: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 376
Publication Date: January 28, 2003
Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Studio: Penguin (Non-Classics)
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Editorial Review:
David M. Friedman's A Mind of Its Own is a cultural examination of the penis, from ancient Sumer to the present. Friedman convincingly suggests that humankind's various and contradictory attitudes toward the penis have been instrumental in mapping the course of both Western civilization and world history.
Friedman begins with pagan attitudes: ancient Greeks considered the penis a measure of a man's proximity to "divine power," while the Romans, whose generals were known to promote soldiers based on penis size, saw it as an indicator of earthly strength. Thanks to the spread of Christianity, the "sacred staff became the demon rod"--a fearful manifestation of the devil. Theology gave way, grudgingly, to science. In the Renaissance, anatomical discoveries allowed for the possibility that this "agent of death" was, in fact, only a "blameless instrument of reproduction." Subsequent chapters discuss the penis's role as a racial yardstick; its "defining role in human personality" as asserted by Freud; its politicization; and finally, through the likes of Viagra, its objectification as a "thing ... impervious to religious teachings, psychological insights, racial stereotypes and feminist criticism."
Friedman's study of what he calls the "symbolic muscle" is filled with fascinating side trips (castration cults, ancient graffiti, the anti-masturbation "semen-retention movement," aphrodisiacs through the ages, and, to modern eyes, risible medical practices with the likes of monkey glands), as well as a rich cast of characters (Leonardo da Vinci, John Kellogg of cornflake fame, Kate Millet, Clarence Thomas, and Walt Whitman). The book is informal, but well researched (and documented), entertaining but not cute, wide-ranging but not sketchy, and simultaneously irreverent and respectful. --H. O'Billovitch
Setting out to "make intellectual and emotional sense of a man's relationship with his defining organ," David Friedman moves from highbrow to lowbrow in this lighthearted but substantive cultural history. Successively viewed as a life source, a symbol of a sacred covenant with God, an emblem of shame, an instrument of domination, a mere prop for the pharmaceutical companies, and finally, as simply a means of penetration-the penis has always been at the core of Western man's (and woman's) cultural evolution. With such luminaries as Leonardo da Vinci, Sigmund Freud, Walt Whitman, and Norman Mailer marking their territory on the subject, A Mind of Its Own is an intelligent and often hilarious account of man's complicated bond with his closest friend.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating: - interesting historiography
*A Mind of Its Own* started off fantastic, opening with how witches were burned for having contact with the "devil's rod". However, the book's ending wasn't quite as great, concluding with impotence and Viagra.
Friedman presented how the penis was viewed, throughout history, through various lens: historical, social, religious, psychological, medical and feminist. My only problem with this book was that the last half was mostly medical (Freud, psychology, psychoanalysis, penile reconstruction, ... Read More
Rating: - Wow!
I learned a whole lot about the history of the Penius that they don't tell you anywhere else! And I'm only in Chapter 2! Nicely written and easy to follow. Reads like a story rather than a weighty text book.
Rating: - Got Penis?
Ok, those who get squeamish over penis need not apply here. This book is covered in it from cover to cover, and men and women alike will find this an interesting dissection of it. The author gives us a history lesson in the penis from ancient times to the current day erectile dysfunction boom. He focuses quite a bit on Mr. Frued, obviously for the fact that this man was penile fixed and injected his theories right into modern day psychology textbooks. I found the most interesting part regarding the racial ... Read More
Rating:  - More Than Expected
I had seen this book on Amazon before and by-passed it, thinking that it would be little more than an anthology of dick stories, past and present. Do not make that mistake. This is a well-researched book that investigates the religious, scientific, racial, political and psychological dimensions - pun intended- of the penis throughout Western History, from Ancient Greece to Viagra. On the other hand, do not fret that it is a dry tome;the author presents the material in an entertaining manner with just the right ... Read More
Rating: - a wonderful and wonderfully thorough book
it's not often i pick up a non-fiction book as engrossing and entertaining as this one. it was like a novel i didn't want to put down until i finished it. friedman presents a wonderfully detailed overview of, as the title promises, the cultural history of the penis. this includes the place of the penis in religious history, freudian psychoanalysis, feminist theory, racism, and psychopharmacology. the author provides enough background and context that it's like reading a well-constructued primer on each of those ... Read More
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