Carnal Knowledge

History can be viewed through many prisms, but none gets as close to the core of our existence as the human instinct of sex. This book is the first to explore history through that instinct. Combining a truly global perspective - taking us from Japanese geisha houses to the practise of honour killings in Islam - with a historical overview spanning 3000 years - from Cleopatra to the legalisation of gay marriages - A Sexual History of the World shows how sex has always been at the heart of our reality. Julie Peakman reveals that while sex has remained a firm constant for thousands of years, society's idea of what is acceptable in sex and sexuality has been repeatedly reinvented by religion, law, war, mass migration and developments in science. Her assessment is taken from an astonishing and exhaustive array of sources including Greek vases, court records, Icelandic Runic verse, medical texts, Indian temple carvings and even Manga comics. A Sexual History of the World simmers with scandal and seduction, and provides a stimulating portrait of the cultural tapestry into which sex and sexuality is weaved. It ulitmately shows that sex is one of the most important mediums through which we can understand different periods and cultures.