Albert Ellis was an American psychologist who in 1955 developed Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT). He held M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in clinical psychology from Columbia University and American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP). He also founded and was the President of the New York City-based Albert Ellis Institute for decades. He is generally considered to be one of the originators of the cognitive revolutionary paradigm shift in psychotherapy and the founder of cognitive-behavioral therapies. Based on a 1982 professional survey of USA and Canadian psychologists, he was considered as the second most influential psychotherapist in history (Carl Rogers ranked first in the survey; Sigmund Freud was ranked third).
“All people, just because they exist, should have the right to as much (or as little), as varied (or as monotonous), as intense (or as mild), as enduring (or as brief) sex enjoyments as they prefer - as long as, in the process of acquiring these preferred satisfactions, they do not needlessly, forcefully, or unfairly interfere with the sexual (or non-sexual) rights and satisfactions of others.”
Book #2 completed from Great Uncle Bob’s library. This mass market 1966 edition was probably the spiciest book on the shelves. The author presents a surprisingly liberal, sex-positive outlook across a number of areas that must have been quite controversial for the time. While some views are clearly outdated — including homophobic passages — much of the material still feels relevant today. To give a sense of the book’s quirks, here are a few chapter titles: “How Males Contribute to Female Rigidity,” “How American Women Are Driving American Males Into Homosexuality,” and “Adultery: Pros and Cons.”
DNF, Most of Ellis's ideas are pretty sound but some are little out there even for today. But my main gripe with this book, is that it mostly just opinions stated as facts with little evidence to back any of his claims up. If you don't agree with him you are a sexual fascist. It could have been a whole lot better.