Download or read book Orgasm and the West written by Robert Muchembled and published by Polity. This book was released on 2008-12-03 with total page 334 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Can the orgasm be explained in historical terms? Robert Muchembled's book unearths fascinating sources which suggest that we need to look with a fresh eye at the past and realize that the sublimation of the erotic impulse was far more than simple religious ascetism - it was the hidden driving force of the West until the 1960s.