Subscribe now

Humans

Impulse review: An authoritative, if dry, sexual behaviours manual

Impulse: The science of sex and desire by psychiatrists Jon Grant and Samuel Chamberlain delivers on its bid to answer our hidden questions about sex, but it can be a little perfunctory

By Elle Hunt

1 February 2023

Interracial heterosexual couple holding hands at home. Millennial young love between two different races; Shutterstock ID 1493320925; purchase_order: -; job: -; client: -; other: -

Everyone has a question about sex they would like answered – even if it is just “am I normal?”

Beatriz Vera/shutterstock

Impulse: The science of sex and desire

Jon Grant and Samuel Chamberlain (Cambridge University Press)

LET’S talk about sex – or not. Many of us have trouble striking the right tone or even finding the right words, caught between obfuscating with the birds and the bees or titillating with undue detail. For the topics too awkward to raise in person, there is always the internet, but its answers are many and highly variable.

Factor …

To continue reading, subscribe today with our introductory offers

View introductory offers

No commitment, cancel anytime*

Offer ends 14th June 2023.

*Cancel anytime within 14 days of payment to receive a refund on unserved issues.

Inclusive of applicable taxes (VAT)

or

Existing subscribers

Sign in to your account

More from New Scientist

Explore the latest news, articles and features

Popular articles

Trending New Scientist articles

1

Chaotically shifting planets could be a sign of advanced aliens

2

Which countries will do well at Eurovision 2023 – according to science

3

Emergence: The mysterious concept that holds the key to consciousness

4

Electromagnetic fields from power lines are messing with honeybees

5

What is the future of AI? Google and the EU have very different ideas

6

We now know how parasitic worms help ward off obesity and diabetes

7

Why the origins of life remain a mystery – and how we will crack it

8

How we could discover quantum gravity without rebuilding space-time

9

The mental tricks you can use in your lifelong pursuit of happiness

10

Mosquito-proof fabric blocks bites without sacrificing comfort