A very extensive and well-researched study in human behavior, specifically, sexuality in the United States from the colonial era until the 1980s, just at the time that the spectre of AIDS had loomed its ugly head. Lots of primary sources make this books notes and bibliography section a goldmine for future reading (I scanned some of the pages for myself for later).

This is a classic study for a reason. It’s comprehensive, readable, organized, full of great details, makes an argument, and treats sexuality as constructed without devolving into abstraction. Just great.

It's a doozy. There's so much to go through, and it just keeps going.

I read the older edition when it came out (I think it was a QPB selection) and then read it again for my comprehensive exams. I enjoyed it both times. A great overview of sexuality in America.

Estelle Freedman is great, John D'Emilio is good, A+

delicious and riveting. I know all of you are as interested as I am in the sex lives of pilgrims and colonials and in the pinpoint of when abortion stopped being viewed as a neutral medical procedure