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Sizzling Sex for Life: Everything You Need to Know to Maximize Erotic Pleasure at Any Age
Michael Castleman, the world's most popular sex expert, has written the most comprehensive, authoritative, reassuring, and practical guide to lifelong pleasure for men and the women who love them. Library Journal calls him “one of the nation’s top health writers.”
Medical journalist Michael Castleman has answered more than 12,000 sex questions throughout his career, including on his website GreatSexGuidance.com, through his "All About Sex" blog on Psychology Today , or even when he used to answer all the sex questions for Playboy ’s “Advisor” column in the '90s. From his numerous years of experience comes this, the most thorough consumer sexuality guide ever written. It’s full of state-of-the-art sex information and sage advice, all written by a decades-long trusted sex author.
Sizzling Sex for Life addresses men, but is exquisitely sensitive to women’s sexual sensibilities. While it focuses on sexual enhancement and the resolution of individual and couple sex problems, it transcends similar books by delving into social/political sexual issues, including school sex education and pornography—and in today’s fraught #MeToo environment, prevention of sexual assault and harassment. This compelling, sex-positive guide will benefit men and women, from the teen years to old age. It offers an in-depth investigation of sexual issues throughout the lifespan, based on 2,500 studies published over the past seventy years—more source material by far than any other sex guide.
This book truly does it all, and does it respectfully. It reassures men that their sexual concerns can usually be happily resolved with self-help or brief professional penis size issues, premature ejaculation, orgasm/ejaculation difficulties, arousal problems, and erectile dysfunction. It comforts women that they can rediscover lost libido, have orgasms every time, and cure their sexual pain. It assures couples that their leading sexual complaint, desire differences, can usually be resolved to mutual satisfaction. It reassures parents that they can maintain their sex lives, provide effective sex education to their children, and survive today’s young-adult hook-up culture. It informs the elderly and those with chronic illnesses and disabilities that great sex is still possible. It reassures sexual minorities that they are psychologically normal and that LGBT sex, BDSM, and consensual non-monogamy are more popular than most people believe.
Whether for procreation, relationship affirmation, or just for fun, lovemaking is normal, healthy, nurturing, often therapeutic, and usually emotionally satisfying. Whether you're looking to learn more, have a specific question, or just want to spice things up between the sheets, this is your ultimate guide to better enjoy one of life's top pleasures.
Medical journalist Michael Castleman has answered more than 12,000 sex questions throughout his career, including on his website GreatSexGuidance.com, through his "All About Sex" blog on Psychology Today , or even when he used to answer all the sex questions for Playboy ’s “Advisor” column in the '90s. From his numerous years of experience comes this, the most thorough consumer sexuality guide ever written. It’s full of state-of-the-art sex information and sage advice, all written by a decades-long trusted sex author.
Sizzling Sex for Life addresses men, but is exquisitely sensitive to women’s sexual sensibilities. While it focuses on sexual enhancement and the resolution of individual and couple sex problems, it transcends similar books by delving into social/political sexual issues, including school sex education and pornography—and in today’s fraught #MeToo environment, prevention of sexual assault and harassment. This compelling, sex-positive guide will benefit men and women, from the teen years to old age. It offers an in-depth investigation of sexual issues throughout the lifespan, based on 2,500 studies published over the past seventy years—more source material by far than any other sex guide.
This book truly does it all, and does it respectfully. It reassures men that their sexual concerns can usually be happily resolved with self-help or brief professional penis size issues, premature ejaculation, orgasm/ejaculation difficulties, arousal problems, and erectile dysfunction. It comforts women that they can rediscover lost libido, have orgasms every time, and cure their sexual pain. It assures couples that their leading sexual complaint, desire differences, can usually be resolved to mutual satisfaction. It reassures parents that they can maintain their sex lives, provide effective sex education to their children, and survive today’s young-adult hook-up culture. It informs the elderly and those with chronic illnesses and disabilities that great sex is still possible. It reassures sexual minorities that they are psychologically normal and that LGBT sex, BDSM, and consensual non-monogamy are more popular than most people believe.
Whether for procreation, relationship affirmation, or just for fun, lovemaking is normal, healthy, nurturing, often therapeutic, and usually emotionally satisfying. Whether you're looking to learn more, have a specific question, or just want to spice things up between the sheets, this is your ultimate guide to better enjoy one of life's top pleasures.
- GenresSexuality
456 pages, Hardcover
Published January 12, 2021
29 people are currently reading
1608 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
January 12, 2023
This book is much longer than it needs to be. I don't the advice in it is bad so much as buried in a meandering and arbitrary collection of essays about things broadly construed to be related to sexual health.
In terms of concrete suggestions, I think Castleman's advice boils down to:
1. Sex can be lots of stuff, not just penis-in-vagina intercourse. Definitely consider things like outercourse, oral sex, etc.
2. You should probably incorporate whole body massage and "foreplay" (broadly construed — cuddling, kissing, etc) into your lovemaking.
3. The majority of women do not orgasm without direct clitoral stimulation.
4. Scheduling sex may seem unromantic, but it is a very good way to maintain a healthy sex life in a long term relationship and you should probably do it.
5. Some stuff in there about how to avoid premature orgasms and managing refractory period.
6. Masturbation is fine and if you are not doing it because you think it's bad for you or gross or something, you should just go ahead and do it.
7. Oral sex is enjoyable for both genders and it should be the default that both partners offer oral sex.
8. Some stuff about the practicalities of anal sex, but probably not enough that you could use it as a guide if you want to try that.
9. It would be a good idea to stay in good shape, not just to look good in the bedroom.
There's also some useful content that might help some people who have hang-ups, like:
1. Porn is not awful and you should not listen to the people pushing an anti-porn or "sex addiction" agenda.
2. You shouldn't feel bad if your partner masturbates.
3. Many people have consensually non-monogamous relationships of various forms, which is something to consider — particularly as an alternative to infidelity.
4. Some content about kinks and BDSM that might be useful but isn't a great guide.
This is probably 30-50% of the book, and honestly a lot of it is padded out and repeated many times. The remainder of the book seems to be taken up with various tangents, like what society can do to prevent rape, or various things about gender. This stuff is interesting and tangentially related, but while speaking up when you see some dodgy behavior is a good thing to prevent rapes, I don't think it affects your ability to have sizzling sex either way. There's a lot of stuff in there about social surveys and how attitudes affect populations where I'm like, "This has nothing to do with the topic at hand."
That said, if you don't care about the meanderingness of it, I feel like Castleman did a good job actually analyzing a lot of the studies he mentions. I do not recall the details, but there was one point where he specifically cited a study that didn't perfectly jive with his overall worldview and he didn't try to minimize it or dismiss it, he was like, "Here's some evidence against this thing." That bought him a lot of credit in my opinion.
2.5 of 5 stars
In terms of concrete suggestions, I think Castleman's advice boils down to:
1. Sex can be lots of stuff, not just penis-in-vagina intercourse. Definitely consider things like outercourse, oral sex, etc.
2. You should probably incorporate whole body massage and "foreplay" (broadly construed — cuddling, kissing, etc) into your lovemaking.
3. The majority of women do not orgasm without direct clitoral stimulation.
4. Scheduling sex may seem unromantic, but it is a very good way to maintain a healthy sex life in a long term relationship and you should probably do it.
5. Some stuff in there about how to avoid premature orgasms and managing refractory period.
6. Masturbation is fine and if you are not doing it because you think it's bad for you or gross or something, you should just go ahead and do it.
7. Oral sex is enjoyable for both genders and it should be the default that both partners offer oral sex.
8. Some stuff about the practicalities of anal sex, but probably not enough that you could use it as a guide if you want to try that.
9. It would be a good idea to stay in good shape, not just to look good in the bedroom.
There's also some useful content that might help some people who have hang-ups, like:
1. Porn is not awful and you should not listen to the people pushing an anti-porn or "sex addiction" agenda.
2. You shouldn't feel bad if your partner masturbates.
3. Many people have consensually non-monogamous relationships of various forms, which is something to consider — particularly as an alternative to infidelity.
4. Some content about kinks and BDSM that might be useful but isn't a great guide.
This is probably 30-50% of the book, and honestly a lot of it is padded out and repeated many times. The remainder of the book seems to be taken up with various tangents, like what society can do to prevent rape, or various things about gender. This stuff is interesting and tangentially related, but while speaking up when you see some dodgy behavior is a good thing to prevent rapes, I don't think it affects your ability to have sizzling sex either way. There's a lot of stuff in there about social surveys and how attitudes affect populations where I'm like, "This has nothing to do with the topic at hand."
That said, if you don't care about the meanderingness of it, I feel like Castleman did a good job actually analyzing a lot of the studies he mentions. I do not recall the details, but there was one point where he specifically cited a study that didn't perfectly jive with his overall worldview and he didn't try to minimize it or dismiss it, he was like, "Here's some evidence against this thing." That bought him a lot of credit in my opinion.
2.5 of 5 stars
February 7, 2021
Possibly the first and last self-help book you will need on male sexuality. Sizzling Sex equips readers with the newest findings in the field of male sexuality paired with practical knowledge cultivated through Michael Castleman’s decades of experience as a sex therapist. Quiet elegantly, Michael Castleman answers some of the pressing questions such as how to be a better lover and how to improve your sexual communication? Additionally, Sizzling Sex challenges the myths around male sexuality and provide practical solutions to everyday problems. This book is fiercely intelligent, provocative and extremely witty. I highly recommend it to readers who seek to deepen their understanding of male sexuality and one that I will suggest to my patients.
December 24, 2022
As a sex therapist, I found this book to be a very comprehensive, well-thought-out, appropriately in-depth description of sex throughout the lifespan. The author points out that it is very heteronormative and I would have liked to have seen more gender-neutral language. As an HIV educator, I was annoyed that he often remarked that people got infected with AIDS. HIV is the virus. AIDS is the consequence of long-term, untreated HIV. All in all, I’m very happy to have this book on my shelf and will happily refer clients to it.
April 25, 2024
A really detailed book on general sexuality. I enjoyed it and it was well researched. Humor is great in this book too, old jokes 🤣. I won this book but wouldn't have been disappointed if I'd bought it. Great writer!
October 17, 2022
Interesting. very interesting! New things to learn and have fun with!
November 20, 2022
To each there own it’s a very different way of thinking 😁
December 8, 2022
This is not for me. So I have to DNF it and wish to give the book to someone else... possibly a family member who would enjoy this better than me.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews