The Dangerous Joy of Dr. Sex and Other True Stories [NOOK Book]

( 2 )

Overview

Can a British biologist reinvent himself as a sex guru in California? That's just one of the surreal stories in this groundbreaking collection of nonfiction lit. In the title piece, Alex Comfort, author of The Joy of Sex, hatches a plan to destroy monogamy forever. In the stories that follow, Kennedy documents other visionaries bent on remaking the world. A retired chemist finds a way to turn a wasteland into paradise - but there's a catch. An aspiring tyrant tries to become the Emperor of America. An artist rigs...
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The Dangerous Joy of Dr. Sex and Other True Stories

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More About This Book

Overview

Can a British biologist reinvent himself as a sex guru in California? That's just one of the surreal stories in this groundbreaking collection of nonfiction lit. In the title piece, Alex Comfort, author of The Joy of Sex, hatches a plan to destroy monogamy forever. In the stories that follow, Kennedy documents other visionaries bent on remaking the world. A retired chemist finds a way to turn a wasteland into paradise - but there's a catch. An aspiring tyrant tries to become the Emperor of America. An artist rigs himself up to a "brain machine" made from parts he bought at Radio Shack. Two of the people profiled in this collection went on to win the MacArthur "genius" award. All of them are as memorable, passionate, and poignant as the best characters in literature. In these stories - most of which first appeared in The New York Times Magazine and The Boston Globe Magazine - Kennedy proves that truth is funnier than fiction.
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Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

In this engaging mélange of personal essays, previously published profiles and reports from the forefront of scientific and technological research, Kennedy (The First Man-Made Man) takes readers on a "safari" where the awesome sights to behold are ordinary citizens blessed with outlandish ambitions to transform the world into a "kinder, sexier, smarter, funnier, or more compassionate place." The book spotlights such visionaries as world-renowned neurologists, a precocious parrot, rabble-rouser Vermin Supreme (self-professed "Emperor of the New Millennium"), inventor Amy Smith (who received a MacArthur "genius" award after Kennedy's profile first appeared) and occasionally the author herself, who experiments with alternate fuel sources and normative definitions of marriage and intimacy. Kennedy excels at making the complex compelling and in identifying the personal motivations driving these innovators. Although there are a few limp essays in the collection (notably on singer Conor Oberst), the eponymous essay on Alex Comfort (The Joy of Sex)-is a stylish and wholly original triumph. Written in a form inspired by the seminal book, the piece is a moving elegy to the elusive author who was alternately reviled and celebrated-without ever being fully understood. (Sept.)

Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From the Publisher

"Kennedy prowls the shadowy, creepy, eye-popping limits of the culture where other writers fear to tread."  —John Sedgwick, author, The Dark House and The Education of Mrs. Bemis

"A dangerous joy of literary pleasure—a compelling, spellbinding reading experience. In this book, Pagan Kennedy writes with clarity, honesty and impeccable grace."  —Lee Gutkind, author, Almost Human: Making Robots Think

"Complicated, cool, and vulnerable at the same time . . . you can't help falling for Pagan Kennedy's characters."  —The New York Times

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Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780981966151
  • Publisher: Santa Fe Writer's Project
  • Publication date: 9/1/2008
  • Sold by: Barnes & Noble
  • Format: eBook
  • Pages: 250
  • File size: 610 KB

Meet the Author

Pagan Kennedy is the author of 10 books in a variety of genres, including The Exes, The First Man-Made Man, Spinsters, Stripping, and Confessions of a Memory Eater, which was featured in Entertainment Weekly as an "EW pick." She is a regular contributor to the Boston Globe, and has published articles in The New York Times. She also has been the recipient of a Barnes and Noble Discover Award, a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in Fiction, and a Smithsonian Fellowship for science writing. She lives in Somerville, Massachusetts.

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Table of Contents


Introduction     xi
Visionaries
The Dangerous Joy of Dr. Sex     1
Genius on Two Dollars a Day     53
Bird Brain     69
The Strongest Woman in the World     77
Battery-Powered Brain     91
Vermin Supreme Wants to Be Your Tyrant     111
The Chemist in the Desert     123
One Room, Three-Thousand Brains     135
The Mystic Mechanic     149
The Ballad of Conor Oberst     157
How to Make (Almost) Anything     173
What We Mean By Freedom     189
First Person: Stories from My Own Life
Boston Marriage     209
The Encyclopedia of Scorpions     223
Off Season     243
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Customer Reviews

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Sort by: Showing all of 2 Customer Reviews

  • Anonymous

    Posted June 22, 2008

    A Wonderful Collection

    The Dangerous Joy of Dr. Sex by Pagan Kennedy is a compilation of true stories. Glorying in the eccentricities that all fascinating people share, the stories are compelling, entertaining and yet frequently humble. Often contrasting hubris with humility, Kennedy tells us stories of Dr. Alex Comfort, the author of the Joy of Sex, who in his arrogance thought he could permanently re-work the cultural norms of sexual relationships. She brings us the story of Amy Smith, who uses her genius and common sense to make lives better in the poorest countries on earth. We read of Vermin Supreme, who enjoins the anti war protestors to respond with ¿A Pony¿, when they are asked to join the antiwar chant, ¿What do we want?¿. Kennedy¿s stories are uplifting, thought provoking and entertaining.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted February 7, 2009

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