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Description
Contents: The Nature of the American Male : A Study of Pedestalism • How to Tell Love From Passion • A Discussion of Feminine Types • The Sexual Revolution: Being a Rather Complete Survey of the Entire Sexual Scene • The Lilies-and-Bluebird Delusion • What Should Children Tell Parents? • Claustrophobia, or What Every Young Wife Should Know • Frigidity in Men • Answers to Hard Questions • Glossary
Two paragons of twentieth-century letters launched their publishing careers in 1929 with this wry and delightful book about sex and sexuality.
James Thurber (1894–1961) was a journalist, writer, cartoonist, and longtime editor and contributor to The New Yorker. His later works included My Life and Hard Times (1933), The Middle-Aged Man on the Flying Trapeze (1935), The Male Animal (1940), Fables for Our Time and Famous Poems Illustrated (1940), My World—And Welcome to It, 1942), and The Years with Ross (1959).
E. B. White (1899–1985) was a poet, author, essayist, stylist, and longtime editor of The New Yorker. His later works included Stuart Little (1945), Charlotte’s Web (1952), and (with William Strunk, Jr.) The Elements of Style (1959).
“One of the silliest books in years, and perfectly lovely.” — W. R. Benet, Saturday Review of Literature
“There are lovely drawings which sometimes illustrate the text and sometimes don’t.” — Isabel Patterson, New York Herald Tribune
“One grand and glorious assortment of literary whoopee.” — R. James, Brooklyn Eagle
Publication Date
1929
Publisher
Harper & Brothers
City
New York and London
Keywords
sex, women, men, 1920s, sexual revolution
Disciplines
American Literature | American Popular Culture | American Studies | Gender and Sexuality | Other Psychology | Social Psychology and Interaction
Recommended Citation
Thurber, James and White, E. B., "Is Sex Necessary? or Why You Feel the Way You Do" (1929). Zea E-Books in American Studies. 44.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/zeaamericanstudies/44

Included in
American Literature Commons, American Popular Culture Commons, Gender and Sexuality Commons, Other Psychology Commons, Social Psychology and Interaction Commons
Comments
Copyright Harper and Brothers 1929. In the public domain as of 2025.
This is a clean image of the Harpers' edition.