Detailed analysis

It’s amazing how, using the example of one detail of the human body, we can tell about the almost two-thousand-year history of the development of scientific, religious and political ideas of mankind. David Friedman did this using the example of a body that for many centuries has attracted the attention of extraordinary researchers, unnerved religious leaders, forced politicians to make fateful decisions and brought considerable profits to the relevant business industries. In his book “Penis. A story of ups and downs,” an American journalist subjects manhood (literally and figuratively) to interdisciplinary analysis, trying to find out who is the true subject of sexual activity - a man or “you-know-what.”

Going beyond the narrow scope of the topic stated in the title of the book, the author examines the object under study from the perspective of biblical ideas about original sin, medieval medical practices, racist prejudices, psychoanalytic theory and feminism. Each chapter is a separate study, written in essay form. Taken together, they illustrate the ongoing confrontation between science, religion and human stupidity. In the history of this confrontation, Friedman rather arbitrarily identifies several stages, the watershed between which is a certain revolution in humanity’s views on male sexuality and its “main” anatomical instrument.

David Friedman writes easily and interestingly, without overusing academicism and boring factual information. At the same time, his book cannot be called too superficial, although it still lacks a certain depth. But the author may not have considered the scientific community as his readership. Therefore, his book is not the worst example of a combination of erudition, consistency in the presentation of the topic and readable language.

Igor Pavlov

David Friedman, Penis. A story of ups and downs. - M.: RIPOL classic, 2011. - 512 p.