Alfred Charles Kinsey

"Sexual Behavior in the Human Female" was originally published in 1953, five years after the male volume. The material presented in this book was derived from personal interviews with nearly 6,000 women; from studies in sexual anatomy, physiology, psychology, and endocrinology. The book presents data on the incidence and frequency with which women participate in various types of sexual activity. The authors show how such factors as age, decade of birth, and religious adherence are reflected in patterns of sexual behavior. Some measure of the social significance of the various types of sexual behavior is provided. The authors make comparisons of female and male sexual activities, and investigate the factors which account for the similarities and differences between female and male patterns of behavior.

When published in 1948, this volume encountered a storm of both condemnation and acclaim. Dr. Kinsey and his fellow researchers employed interviews to accumulate a body of empirical data regarding sex. Based on the personal histories of approximately 5,300 males, this volume describes the methodology, sampling, coding, interviewing, and statistical analyses used, and then examines sexual outlet and the factors and sources involved. "The Kinsey Report", as this book was popularly designated. Fifty years ago, represents a milestone on the path toward a scientific understanding of human sexual behavior.

"Is it good to eat?" Anyone who has asked or been asked this question about some of our wild plants will find this book a fascinating source of answers. For it is not only accurate and complete, but is also rich in knowledge of the history of these plants and the ways in which they have been put to human use. The book covers all of the edible flowering plants and ferns, plus the important mushrooms, seaweeds and lichens growing wild east of the Great Plains and north of Peninsular Florida.

Based on surveys made by members of the staff of Indiana University, and supported by the National Research Council's Committee for Research on Problems of Sex by means of funds contributed by the Medical Division of the Rockefeller Foundation.