The Big Book of Masturbation: From Angst to Zeal. Martha Cornog, San Francisco, CA, Down There Press, 2003. 360 pp. $22.00

Sex Roles, Vol. 52, Nos. 3/4, February 2005 ( 2005) DOI: 10.1007/s11199-005-1304-6 Book Review The Big Book of Masturbation: From Angst to Zeal. with which its pathogenic powers have been pro- Martha Cornog, San Francisco, CA, Down pounded in the past” (p. 234). Two original contribu- There Press, 2003. 360 pp. $22.00. tions examine contemporary Western conflicts over the morality of adult masturbation. These papers, by Martha Cornog’s panoramic view of masturba- Alan Soble and Harold Ivan Smith, respectfully bal- tion won’t satisfy an interest in prurience, empiri- ance liberal and conservative arguments. cism, or sexual enhancement. Cornog’s purpose is Although the broad focus means academic to provide “a kaleidoscopic picture of masturbation readers will find the chapter summarizing their own through different disciplines” (p. xvii). field familiar (though accurate), the multidisciplinary The author crosses historical, cultural, and aca- structure provides plenty of fresh, useful perspec- demic lines to illustrate how “masturbation has been tives. The psychological perspective seemed flat regarded so negatively and also so positively” (p. compared to philosophy’s debate about whether xv). The author is a librarian, and the breadth sexuality is ideally unitary (where desire is about the of her research impresses, but she does not at- physical sensations) or binary (where desire is about tempt to answer any particular question. Thus, the a relationship). A survey of more than 70 societies’ book reads more like an encyclopedia. Cornog an- views of masturbation convinced this reader that be- thologizes writers on masturbation from predictable liefs are...