With
a similar structure to How to Make
Great Love to a Man, this self-help book first discusses psychology and
emotions, then the initial phases in relationships, long-term relationships,
and ending with particular discussion of sexual technique.  The book uses
straightforward language to explain psychology, and without being academic,
provides a sensible and well-grounded perspective that acknowledges some
differences between men and women without insisting that they are universally
true.  While the book about men discussed male sexual problems of impotence and
self-control with ejaculation and loss of libido in men, How to Make Great
Love to a Woman deals with problems of lack of desire in women and ways to
increase her sexual interest. 

The
book is aimed at heterosexual readers who want to improve their sexual lives
and are not easily offended.  The language used by the authors is easily
accessible without being crude.  The photographs of different sexual positions
are not highly explicit, but they do show nudity.  There are explicit drawings
that give a little more detail about performing particular actions.  There are
also many boxes and separate lists within the texts that provide helpful hints,
such as different kinds of listening skills, myths of romantic love, how to
kiss, how not to kiss, as well as how to perform different sexual techniques. 
Generally, the book keeps a good balance between the psychological, with focus
on emotions, intimacy, and mutual understanding, and the nitty-gritty basics of
how-to-do-it. 

This
is just a general guide and it doesn’t take on more specialized issues in any
detail €“ there is nothing about the sexuality of the disabled, for instance,
and very little on the G-spot.  There’s hardly any discussion of how to address
more chronic sexual problems in relationships, and not much on perversions,
fetishes or obsessions.  There’s nothing about online sexuality and cybersex. 
So most of the information in the book will probably be familiar and pretty
obvious to most readers, but nevertheless, it could be a useful resource for
couples who want some way to address their sexuality together. 

© 2004 Christian Perring. All
rights reserved.

Christian
Perring, Ph.D., is Academic Chair of the Arts & Humanties
Division and Chair of the Philosophy Department at Dowling College, Long Island. He
is also editor of Metapsychology Online Review.  His main research
is on philosophical issues in medicine, psychiatry and psychology.

Categories: SelfHelp, Sexuality