Product Review

You wouldn't necessarily expect to hear the Bee Gees in an S&M club in Paris or meet a gay Israeli who loves Berlin.

Then again, the history of sex is nothing if not kinky.

In "The History of Sex (But Not As We Know It)," JR Daeschner embarks on a quest to find out why we think the way we do about sex and romance.

From Pompeii and the world's oldest whorehouse to Europe's first Masturbate-a-thon in London, JR ventures between the past and present to reveal how sexual attitudes have changed in the West, with more than a little help from the East.

On his journey, JR learns how to talk dirty in Latin, gets pick-up tips from a modern Don Juan in Seville and uncovers the story of the 'other' Columbus who discovered the clitoris -- and died shortly thereafter.

Along the way, he tracks down characters ranging from a male Lesbian in Greece to a Prague spy who tells him about Cold War 'sexpionage,' not to mention fashion legend Pierre Cardin (the new master of the Marquis de Sade's domain) and the maker of Emmanuelle (now the mayor of the village that features in A Year in Provence).

He also meets a producer of 'Muslim porn,' the 'booth babes' of the Geneva Motor Show, the 'Happy Hooker' of Manhattan and the King of the Red-Light District in Amsterdam, as well as Larry Flynt and the makers of Max Hardcore in LA.

A unique mix of history and travel, "The History of Sex (But Not As We Know It)" strips bare our erotic past and present, challenging received wisdom and revealing surprising insights into the future.