Stoller wrote a provocative book. He takes sides, and when he attacks cherished conventions he minces no words. His language is what strikes the reader from the beginning. No jargon ('that is no theory "bootlegged" in on a scientific vocabulary'), the minimum of psychoanalytic terms, plain words and direct statements. A descriptive language edging often on the sarcastic and with a definite liking for one-liners ('I believe more in drives than in drive theory', 'Aesthetics is the study of adjectives and adverbs'). It is a colourful and vibrant language, and once you are over the initial shock you go along with Stoller sharing his pleasure in 'paring a sentence down to its barest minimum in search for clarity'.

The book is divided in two parts: 'Dynamics of Erotic Behavior' and, 'Observing the Erotic Imagination'. The