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We've read a lot of books on swinging, but this one is far and away the best. We first met Terry several years ago when he was first embarking on his research for this book. As an outsider, we doubted he would be able to capture the essence of our Lifestyle, and we then forgot about him. Later, the television show EXTRA called and asked us to do a segment on swinging based on the book, and they sent us a copy to preview. We were very impressed, and now that an American paperback edition is available, we can heartily recommend it to anyone interested in this subject. When Terry Gould first wrote about swinging for an article, he brought in all of his prejudices and preconceived notions and pretty much smeared the swing community. Later, after having met some swingers and gotten to know them on a personal level, he realized that his earlier judgements may have been incorrect. As an investigative journalist, his journalistic integrity was challenged, so he went back to the subject and researched it with much greater objectivity and depth. The result is a book that looks at many aspects of swinging in a fair and intelligent way. One of the interesting things has been reading the reviews, which have been by and large positive. Even so, many reviewers come to the subject with the same preconceptions Gould started with, and after reading the book still don't get it. Even though swinging challenges cultural mores and should inspire us to question traditional thinking about "inherent" sexuality, the Publisher's Weekly review states that swingers come off as "more goofy than anything else". Talk about sexual denial and envy. The Kirkus Review calls Gould a member of the Lifestyle (the book states clearly he has not participated in the Lifestyle), and dismisses as conjecture the recent significant biological and evolutionary research Gould introduces that explains why most animals are not monogamous and why it is actually not the biological "norm" for humans. This cutting edge research, introducing data gleaned from DNA, is very significant and an aspect of the book I feel is very important in understanding why many swingers find it easy to adopt a non-monogamous lifestyle. His chapter on the subject is one of the best I have read in any book. The book covers the growth of swinging from the early Sexual Freedom League to the Lifestyles organization, and traces how swinging has evolved into big business with phenomenal growth. He takes you inside a number of swing clubs and resorts. He interviews lots of swingers who describe what they do in their own words. He also covers the Tantra and Polyamory communities, the Ethical Hedonism of Dr. Susan Block, and the legal and civil rights battles of the swing community. I never expected an outsider to not only understand what we are about, but to also pull together so much sociological, biological, anthropological and historical information to create a clear picture of not only what swinging is, but why it exists when it seems so contrary to how we are told we are supposed to behave. He also takes to task the many journalists who did what he did originally- sensationalized our sexuality while attacking and misrepresenting what they did not understand. -JB Buy this book from Barnes and Noble The Adult Book Review Archives
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Lifestyle: A Look at the Erotic Rites of Swingers
