Sex and Punishment by Eric Berkowitz

Sex and Punishment by Eric Berkowitz

Sex and Punishment tells the story of the struggle throughout millennia to regulate the most powerful engine of human behaviour: sex. From the savage impalement of an Ancient Mesopotamian adulteress to the imprisonment of Oscar Wilde for `gross indecency’ in 1895, Eric Berkowitz evokes the entire sweep of Western sex law. The cast of Sex and Punishment is as varied as the forms taken by human desire itself: royal mistresses, gay charioteers, medieval transvestites, lonely goat-lovers, prostitutes of all stripes and London rent boys. Each of them had forbidden sex, and each was judged – and justice, as Berkowitz shows – rarely had anything to do with it.

'I don't think I've ever read such an entertaining historical workIt has the wisdom granted by perspective, without the condescension of someone who thinks we're wiser than our ancestors. Whether you want to fuel your indignation, or simply furnish yourself with enough jaw-dropping data to galvanise a hundred party conversations, you really must shell out for this book. It's worth every penny.' Nick Lezard, Guardian 'This enlightening and hugely entertaining book tells the long and often astounding story of western sexuality and the endless attempts to repress it - At once broad-ranging and rich in detail, Berkowitz's cross-examination of human sexuality is both exciting and impressively relentless.' James McConnachie, Sunday Times 'A fascinating and gruesomely compelling study of human sexuality' Mail on Sunday 'From the Code of Hammurabi to the Wilde Trial, Eric Berkowitz finds any amount of entertaining evidence to support his thesis that sex law has been "as passionate and mercurial as the sex drive itself."' The Scotsman 'A wonderfully well-written, well-organised and accomplished book - Berkowitz has achieved a perfect balance between case study and analysis, and between narrative and reflection. - But it comes with a health warning. 350 pages of sex resulting in impalement or a barbed fish up the bottom may have a deleterious effect on the libido.' Sara Wheeler, Literary Review 'Throughout Berkowitz smoothly straddles the divide between the explicit and the subtle, the ridiculous and the sublime - Sex and Punishment constantly reminds us not to be complacent about past victories - nor to rest until genuine equality has been won, from the barricades to the bedroom.' Socialist Review 'A wonderful exposure of the illogicality of so much legislation that attempts to regulate sexual activity' Mary Beard, author of Pompeii 'Sex and Punishment is built on solid scholarship and spiced with plenty of sordid details that will make you the hit of any cocktail party.' Christopher Ryan, author of Sex at Dawn: The Prehistoric Origins of Modern Sexuality

Eric Berkowitz is a writer, lawyer and journalist. Before devoting his practice to public interest and asylum law, he practiced intellectual property and civil litigation in Los Angeles for more than twenty years. Berkowitz has published widely throughout his career, including investigative pieces in the New York Times and Los Angeles Times, and articles in the Washington Post and The Economist, among others. He lives in San Francisco, California.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781908906106
ISBN 10	1908906103
Title	Sex and Punishment
Author	Eric Berkowitz
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Saqi Books
Year published	2013-04-03
Number of pages	368
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
Note	Unavailable