|
PREFACE TO THE NEW, REVISED AND EXPANDED EDITION
The great success of The Sex Atlas, both in the U.S. and abroad in foreign translations, has given me the welcome opportunity to prepare this revised and expanded edition.
Most of the text has stood the test of time very well, but in some instances substantial corrections and additions have seemed advisable. Especially, the sections dealing with venereal diseases, problematic sexual behavior, and sex therapy have been expanded and updated. Some chapters have been rearranged for easier comprehension. Furthermore, several new charts and illustrations have been added. Most importantly, the book's scholarly apparatus—bibliography, resource guide and index—has been completely overhauled. At the same time, however, care has been taken to preserve the original clarity and concentration on essentials.
In a book of this kind, there is always the danger of getting lost in distracting side issues and popular or professional fads. The Sex Atlas has, from the beginning, tried to resist this temptation. Nevertheless, it has proven to be the most comprehensive single volume in its field. In its present new form, it contains even more factual information and thus provides a very thorough and carefully organized introduction to the whole of sexology.
Although it has a long and honorable tradition, Americans are only now beginning to recognize the "science of sex" as a valid academic enterprise in its own right. The Sex Atlas, written as a sexological textbook, tries to further this recognition and offers the broadest perspective on human sexuality. Therefore, unlike other works on the subject, it does not restrict itself to clinical and therapeutic aspects, but takes note of historical, sociological, anthropological, and literary contributions,
By the same token, this book is also meant to be used as a general home-reference work. This new edition, with its strict systematic structure, non-technical language, handy size and large print, should reach an entirely new readership, including families who would otherwise be deprived of information they want and need.
In sum, I hope that The Sex Atlas will now be used not only in college classrooms, but also in many homes and libraries as a primary resource, much like a geographical atlas or dictionary. I believe it could make both the understanding of sex and communication about it much easier and thereby contribute to a more humane environment for all of us.
ERWIN J. HAEBERLE
As I have explained in the introduction, the present book, as any textbook of this kind, is essentially a summary of work done by others. I therefore gladly discharge my duty of acknowledging my debt to those great scholars and scientists on whose writings I have relied in my effort. Their research, not my own, has provided the real substance of the following text. The most important of my sources have been the well-known publications of Alfred C. Kinsey and his associates and of Clellan S. Ford and Frank A. Beach, Lester A. Kirkendall, John Money, and William E. Masters and Virginia Johnson. In addition, I have made use of the work of several, hitherto untranslated, Middle-European cultural historians, especially Jos van Ussel (Sexualunterdrückung, Reinbek b. Hamburg 1970) and Annemarie and Werner Leibbrand (Formen des Eros, 2 vols., Freiburg Br./ München 1973). Of course, these and the many other original researchers to whom I am indebted are also repeatedly listed throughout the text, in the reference notes, and in the bibliography.
My own work of compiling, evaluating, and synthesizing the abundant source material has been immensely helped by several friends and colleagues without whom I would have lost my perspective. They have offered much useful advice and constructive criticism. I especially thank Professor Dr. Vincent J. DeFeo of the Department of Anatomy and Reproductive Biology, John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, who checked the first section of my book for basic accuracy and gave me a number of practical hints for its improvement. I have followed most of his suggestions. Any possibly remaining errors or omissions are, of course, my own. I am also deeply grateful to Professor Dr. Harvey L. Gochros of the School of Social Work, University of Hawaii, for his active interest in this project. His experienced eye focused mainly on the pedagogical aspect of my text, and from him I have learned a great deal about the effective presentation of research material in the classroom. He was also the first to call my attention to the problems of the sexually oppressed. My visits with him and his students have always been profitable and enlightening. I would further like to thank Professor Dr. Ronald J. Pion of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii for some valuable material and information. In addition, I have received much-appreciated help and advice from Professor Dr. Charlotte Armster Gebhardt and Dr. Jerold Wikoff of the Department of German, Dartmouth College, from Professor Dr. Paul McCarthy of the Department of East Asian Languages, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, and from Professor Dr. John R. Clarke, Department of the History of Art, Yale University. Special thanks are also due to Gene G. Bernal of the ESL program of the Modesto City Schools, Modesto, California, for his assistance at crucial moments and for organizing some of my often expansive files.
Finally, it is my particular pleasure to acknowledge my debt to Dr. Robert Theodore Mcllvenna and his colleagues of the National Sex Forum, San Francisco, California. For several years they have given me the most generous encouragement. Indeed, without them this book might never have seen the light of day. I especially appreciate the competence and patience of Dr. Laird Sutton who shot most of the photographs for this book. At the same time I thank Salli Rasberry and Dr. Phyllis Lyon for their critical support and their help in my efforts to avoid the bias of male chauvinism. If I should not have fully succeeded it is certainly not their fault. I have also gratefully followed some helpful recommendations from Dr. Richard L. Bennett, Director of the Akron Sex Forum, Akron, Ohio.
ERWIN J. HAEBERLE
|
