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Avg. Customer Rating:(based on 6 reviews) Sales Rank: 83312 Category: Book
Author:Brian Alexander Publisher:Harmony Studio:Harmony Manufacturer:Harmony Label:Harmony Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published) Media: Hardcover Number Of Items: 1 Pages: 320 Shipping Weight (lbs): 1 Dimensions (in): 9.4 x 6.2 x 1.2
Product Description Welcome to the America we don?t usually talk about, a place where that nice couple down the street could be saddling up for ?pony play,? making and selling their own porn DVDs, or hosting other couples for a little flogging. As award-winning journalist Brian Alexander uncovers, fringe experimentation has gone suburban. Soccer moms, your accountant, even your own parents could be turning kinky.
Stunned by the uninhibited questions from ordinary people on his msnbc.com column, ?Sexploration? (?My wife and I have heard that a lot of couples in their thirties are playing strip poker . . . as well as skinny-dipping with other couples/friends. Any idea if this is a fashionable trend or has it been going on for some time and we never knew it?? or ?I am interested in bondage and hear that there are secret bondage clubs someplace. Can you help me find them??), Brian Alexander was driven to understand Americans? desire to get down and dirty?especially in an era where conservative family values dominate.
To find out what people are really doing?and why a country that suffered a national freak- out over Janet Jackson?s breast was enthusiastically getting in touch with its inner perv?Alexander set out on a sexual safari in modern America. Whether mixing it up at a convention of fetishists, struggling into his own pair of PVC pants for a wild night at a sex club, being tutored on dildos by a nineteen-year-old supervisor while working in an adult store, or learning the surprising ways of Biblical sex from an evangelical preacher, Alexander uses humor and insight to reveal a sexual world that is quickly redefining the phrase ?polite society.?
Gonzo journalism at its funniest and kinkiest, America Unzipped is a fascinating cultural study and an eye-popping peek into the lives of people you?d least expect to find tied up and wearing latex.
One Dozen Things to Avoid When Exploring American Sex
1. Asking an enthusiastic devotee to explain cock-and-ball torture while standing within arm?s length.
2. Assuming an evangelical Christian will not be familiar with the term ?69.?
3. Incredibly tight PVC pants.
4. Trying to become the first male sex toy home party salesman in Missouri.
5. Standing too close to bondage models without wearing overalls and safety goggles.
6. Insisting that Dan Quayle would never invest in porn.
7. Displaying a look of surprise when a grandmother discusses the risk of removing a dildo from a microwave oven.
8. Admitting your sex vocabulary is smaller than an eighth grader?s.
9. Explaining the difference between ?cream pie? and ?gonzo? to a suburban mom shopping for her son?s birthday sex DVDs.
10. Trying to interview a naked submissive locked on a cage.
11. Expecting answers about sex from a six-foot-tall pink rabbit.
12. Thinking that porn kings could not possibly have Ivy League degrees and run charitable foundations.
Informative and interesting... November 21, 2008 This book opened my eyes to a lot of things I knew nothing about :) I think the author's journalistic approach to a sensitive subject was perfect -the reader can then draw their own conclusions.
After reading this book I came away with the feeling that currently people in the US are somehow looking for the next 'thing' that they think is going to ultimately fulfill them. That there is something out there - just around the corner?- that is going to give them the elusive ticket to paradise. The pursuit of happiness and sexual fulfillment has become a bit desparate and tawdry although it continues to be quite interesting to see what human beings will invent.
Brian Alexander pulls off the covers May 6, 2008 1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Brian Alexander's America Unzipped: In Search of Sex and Satisfaction is one of the most informative and entertaining books about sex that I've had the pleasure of reading. Alexander set out on a journey to explore the sexual mores and activities of middle America. Do "normal" Americans behave conservatively in the bedroom, or do they indulge in wild sexual expressions -- even activities their neighbors and pastors might brand as "deviant" or "perverted"?
Please read my full review at http://betterthanieverexpected.blogspot.com/2008/05/america-unzipped-brian-alexander-pulls.html
Joan Price Author of Better Than I Ever Expected: Straight Talk About Sex After Sixty
Better Than I Ever Expected: Straight Talk About Sex After Sixty
Thoroughly enjoyable February 26, 2008 3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I'm a sometime reader of Brian Alexander's Sexploration column on MSNBC, which I've always found to be pleasantly playful and frank--a welcome departure from the moralizing and sidelining of sex one sees so frequently. When I saw that Alexander had written a book on his sexual odessey across the United States, my interest was piqued. I'm pleased to say that he lived up to my expectations with America Unzipped. It is clear that the author attempted to provide a truthful portrait of sex in this country: a broad sampling of erotic tastes and cultural groups are represented and Alexander succeeds in remaining largely unbiased in his depiction, barring a few pointed quips.
While I expect many readers will find certain aspects of the book a bit shocking, sensationalism is (thankfully) not the spirit of this work. For my part, I was already familiar with the majority of the sexual penchants and activities discussed, but still the book was highly engaging for me. Alexander's biggest success is in revealing the human side of all things sexual, from the commonplace to the esoteric, and ultimately showing that people--whatever floats their respective boats--are more alike than they are different. The characters portrayed in the book are vibrant and generally sympathetic, regardless of the reader's views on their erotic undertakings. Fans of adult media (especially BDSM) will be treated to a candid glimpse at some of the men and women of the industry, although a majority of the characters in America Unzipped are everyday people.
The author also goes beyond simple illustration and offers his analysis and insight into the sexual climate of American culture: where we are, where we're headed, and why. He places public perception of sex in America alongside the reality, with interesting results. Alexander delivers his observations with admirable honesty and refreshing humor. If you're interested in sex and American culture, you'd be doing yourself a disservice to pass up this book.
interesting read February 18, 2008 2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This is an interesting read that takes a look at sex in America through the view point of many different ordinary people. The book crosses the country, so it doesn't convey a regional bias, and the author stays mostly impartial, so doesn't pass judgement on either the religious preachers with whom he meets or the sex club participants. Don't expect to be shocked by the book, nor learn any amazing secrets or facts. It looks at ordinary people (for the most part) doing what is ordinary to them (but perhaps not for all readers), that are involved in various aspects of expression of sexuality. But it covers a mix of situations and how people react to them, and that is the heart of what is interesting about the book.
interesting February 15, 2008 0 out of 3 found this review helpful
I enjoyed the 2/3rd's or so of this book. Very interesting. The last 1/3rd not so much. Too many pages spent on SMBD for me. But if that's your thing it may be your favorite part. Overall the book let me wanting more of the other topics. I suppose I have to recommend it if the subject of sex interests you.
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