Hot Books, Cool Review
by Drew CoffeyMasters of Sex: The Life and Times of William
Masters and Virginia Johnson, the Couple Who
Taught America How To Love by Thomas Maier,
Basic Books, 2009. This history of William
Masters and Virginia Johnson ran the risk of
falling between two schools: tawdry descriptions
of the sex volunteers, the couple’s
therapy, the electrodes connected to this or
that... or a dry description of the researchers
themselves. Surprisingly and admirably,
both sides of the story are given their due
here. The research, while rigorous and fairly
objective, is quite racy; the researchers, while
prim in their lab coats, are quite passionate.
Temperature rating: hot and dry—think Arizona.
