Histories of the Personal and Intimate (nonfiction)

1.
Clean
Clean 3.71 avg rating — 2,484 ratings
2.
Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex
Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex 3.85 avg rating — 59,577 ratings
3.
Panties: A Brief History
Panties: A Brief History 3.09 avg rating — 11 ratings
3.
Medieval Bodies: Life and Death in the Middle Ages
Medieval Bodies: Life and Death in the Middle Ages 3.93 avg rating — 2,489 ratings
3.
The Accidental Diarist: A History of the Daily Planner in America
The Accidental Diarist: A History of the Daily Planner in America 3.61 avg rating — 18 ratings
3.
The Devil Wins: A History of Lying from the Garden of Eden to the Enlightenment
The Devil Wins: A History of Lying from the Garden of Eden to the Enlightenment liked it 3.00 avg rating — 28 ratings
3.
Straightforward: The Narrative Construction of Heteronormativity from Homer to The Hobbit
Straightforward: The Narrative Construction of Heteronormativity from Homer to The Hobbit 4.14 avg rating — 7 ratings
8.
Crying: A Natural and Cultural History of Tears
Crying: A Natural and Cultural History of Tears
by: Tom Lutz
3.60 avg rating — 151 ratings
8.
Shapeshifters: A Journey Through the Changing Human Body
Shapeshifters: A Journey Through the Changing Human Body 3.87 avg rating — 665 ratings
8.
Ennobling Love: In Search of a Lost Sensibility (The Middle Ages Series)
Ennobling Love: In Search of a Lost Sensibility (The Middle Ages Series) 4.14 avg rating — 22 ratings
11.
Cathedrals of the Flesh : In Search of the Perfect Bath
Cathedrals of the Flesh : In Search of the Perfect Bath 3.72 avg rating — 156 ratings
11.
How Do We Look: The Body, the Divine, and the Question of Civilization
How Do We Look: The Body, the Divine, and the Question of Civilization 3.68 avg rating — 2,695 ratings
13.
Inner Hygiene: Constipation and the Pursuit of Health in Modern Society
Inner Hygiene: Constipation and the Pursuit of Health in Modern Society 4.33 avg rating — 3 ratings
13.
Sex and Sexuality in Stuart Britain
Sex and Sexuality in Stuart Britain 3.97 avg rating — 63 ratings
15.
Anatomies: A Cultural History of the Human Body
Anatomies: A Cultural History of the Human Body 3.50 avg rating — 698 ratings
15.
Why We Lost the Sex Wars: Sexual Freedom in the #MeToo Era
Why We Lost the Sex Wars: Sexual Freedom in the #MeToo Era 3.82 avg rating — 38 ratings
17.
The Secret Life of Sleep
The Secret Life of Sleep
by: Kat Duff
3.44 avg rating — 400 ratings
17.
Sacred Matters: Celebrity Worship, Sexual Ecstasies, the Living Dead, and Other Signs of Religious Life in the United States
Sacred Matters: Celebrity Worship, Sexual Ecstasies, the Living Dead, and Other Signs of Religious Life in the United States 3.05 avg rating — 37 ratings
19.
Plucked: A History of Hair Removal (Biopolitics, 8)
Plucked: A History of Hair Removal (Biopolitics, 8) 3.76 avg rating — 382 ratings
19.
Drawing Power: Women's Stories of Sexual Violence, Harassment, and Survival
Drawing Power: Women's Stories of Sexual Violence, Harassment, and Survival 4.35 avg rating — 654 ratings
21.
Home: A Short History of an Idea
Home: A Short History of an Idea 3.93 avg rating — 1,651 ratings
21.
Gods of the Upper Air: How a Circle of Renegade Anthropologists Reinvented Race, Sex, and Gender in the Twentieth Century
Gods of the Upper Air: How a Circle of Renegade Anthropologists Reinvented Race, Sex, and Gender in the Twentieth Century 4.26 avg rating — 2,337 ratings
23.
Vagina: A New Biography
Vagina: A New Biography 3.80 avg rating — 4,248 ratings
23.
Sex and Sexuality in Modern Southern Culture
Sex and Sexuality in Modern Southern Culture 3.80 avg rating — 5 ratings
25.
The Nose: A Profile of Sex, Beauty, and Survival
The Nose: A Profile of Sex, Beauty, and Survival 3.67 avg rating — 27 ratings
25.
Sex on the Kitchen Table: The Romance of Plants and Your Food
Sex on the Kitchen Table: The Romance of Plants and Your Food 3.83 avg rating — 30 ratings
27.
Centuries of Childhood: A Social History of Family Life
Centuries of Childhood: A Social History of Family Life 3.70 avg rating — 445 ratings
27.
The Poisoned Embrace: A Brief History of Sexual Pessimism
The Poisoned Embrace: A Brief History of Sexual Pessimism 3.71 avg rating — 31 ratings
29.
A History of Celibacy
A History of Celibacy 3.70 avg rating — 325 ratings
30.
Boredom: The Literary History of a State of Mind
Boredom: The Literary History of a State of Mind 3.52 avg rating — 23 ratings
30.
The Joy of Sexus: Lust, Love, and Longing in the Ancient World
The Joy of Sexus: Lust, Love, and Longing in the Ancient World 3.63 avg rating — 169 ratings
32.
Love: A History
Love: A History
by: Simon May
3.84 avg rating — 233 ratings
32.
Masters of Sex: The Life and Times of William Masters and Virginia Johnson, the Couple Who Taught America How to Love
Masters of Sex: The Life and Times of William Masters and Virginia Johnson, the Couple Who Taught America How to Love 3.63 avg rating — 2,563 ratings
34.
The Social Sex: A History of Female Friendship
The Social Sex: A History of Female Friendship 3.16 avg rating — 301 ratings
34.
The Birth of the Pill: How Four Crusaders Reinvented Sex and Launched a Revolution
The Birth of the Pill: How Four Crusaders Reinvented Sex and Launched a Revolution 3.98 avg rating — 3,555 ratings
36.
Anatomy of Love: The Natural History of Monogamy, Adultery, and Divorce
Anatomy of Love: The Natural History of Monogamy, Adultery, and Divorce 3.88 avg rating — 1,926 ratings
36.
Women After All: Sex, Evolution, and the End of Male Supremacy
Women After All: Sex, Evolution, and the End of Male Supremacy 3.65 avg rating — 355 ratings
38.
The Story of Sex: A Graphic History Through the Ages
The Story of Sex: A Graphic History Through the Ages 3.97 avg rating — 1,431 ratings
38.
Hair: A Human History
Hair: A Human History 3.49 avg rating — 134 ratings
40.
On Being Different: What It Means to Be a Homosexual
On Being Different: What It Means to Be a Homosexual 4.25 avg rating — 1,274 ratings
40.
A Brief History of Nakedness
A Brief History of Nakedness 3.95 avg rating — 78 ratings
42.
Eat the Beetles!: An Exploration of Our Conflicted Relationship with Insects
Eat the Beetles!: An Exploration of Our Conflicted Relationship with Insects 3.91 avg rating — 33 ratings
42.
Shapely Ankle Preferr'd: A History of the Lonely Hearts Ad 1695 - 2010
Shapely Ankle Preferr'd: A History of the Lonely Hearts Ad 1695 - 2010 3.45 avg rating — 84 ratings
44.
Every Body's Talking: What We Say without Words
Every Body's Talking: What We Say without Words 3.70 avg rating — 116 ratings
44.
Behind Closed Doors: At Home in Georgian England
Behind Closed Doors: At Home in Georgian England 3.92 avg rating — 832 ratings
46.
Food, Sex and Pollution: A New Guinea Religion
Food, Sex and Pollution: A New Guinea Religion 4.36 avg rating — 11 ratings
46.
Clean and Decent: The Fascinating History of the Bathroom and WC
Clean and Decent: The Fascinating History of the Bathroom and WC 3.58 avg rating — 62 ratings
48.
Power, Gender and Christian Mysticism (Cambridge Studies in Ideology and Religion, Series Number 8)
Power, Gender and Christian Mysticism (Cambridge Studies in Ideology and Religion, Series Number 8) 3.81 avg rating — 26 ratings
48.
A History of the Breast
A History of the Breast 3.96 avg rating — 574 ratings
50.
Ill Composed: Sickness, Gender, and Belief in Early Modern England
Ill Composed: Sickness, Gender, and Belief in Early Modern England 4.33 avg rating — 12 ratings
50.
How the French Invented Love: Nine Hundred Years of Passion and Romance
How the French Invented Love: Nine Hundred Years of Passion and Romance 3.71 avg rating — 625 ratings
52.
Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments: Intimate Histories of Social Upheaval
Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments: Intimate Histories of Social Upheaval 4.43 avg rating — 4,693 ratings
52.
Solitary Sex : A Cultural History of Masturbation
Solitary Sex : A Cultural History of Masturbation 3.83 avg rating — 191 ratings
54.
The Intimate Bond: How Animals Shaped Human History
The Intimate Bond: How Animals Shaped Human History 3.52 avg rating — 251 ratings
54.
Birth: The Surprising History of How We Are Born
Birth: The Surprising History of How We Are Born 4.05 avg rating — 2,939 ratings
56.
Pissing in the Snow and Other Ozark Folktales
Pissing in the Snow and Other Ozark Folktales 3.83 avg rating — 324 ratings
56.
Marriage, a History: From Obedience to Intimacy or How Love Conquered Marriage
Marriage, a History: From Obedience to Intimacy or How Love Conquered Marriage 3.98 avg rating — 3,625 ratings
58.
Remember Your Rubbers!: Collectible Condom Containers (A Schiffer Book for Collectors)
Remember Your Rubbers!: Collectible Condom Containers (A Schiffer Book for Collectors) really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 5 ratings
58.
A Mind of Its Own: A Cultural History of the Penis
A Mind of Its Own: A Cultural History of the Penis 3.76 avg rating — 1,104 ratings
60.
The Time Falling Bodies Take To Light: Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture
The Time Falling Bodies Take To Light: Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture 4.33 avg rating — 174 ratings
60.
Flow: The Cultural Story of Menstruation
Flow: The Cultural Story of Menstruation 3.71 avg rating — 1,712 ratings
62.
Straight: The Surprisingly Short History Of Heterosexuality
Straight: The Surprisingly Short History Of Heterosexuality 3.78 avg rating — 1,117 ratings
63.
Unmentionable: The Victorian Lady's Guide to Sex, Marriage, and Manners
Unmentionable: The Victorian Lady's Guide to Sex, Marriage, and Manners 3.82 avg rating — 9,083 ratings
64.
Gut: The Inside Story of Our Body's Most Underrated Organ
Gut: The Inside Story of Our Body's Most Underrated Organ 4.08 avg rating — 53,718 ratings
65.
The Bedroom: A Social History of Intimacy and Sleep
The Bedroom: A Social History of Intimacy and Sleep 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings
66.
The Secret History of Domesticity: Public, Private, and the Division of Knowledge (Director's Circle Book)
The Secret History of Domesticity: Public, Private, and the Division of Knowledge (Director's Circle Book) 4.13 avg rating — 31 ratings
67.
The History of the Kiss!: The Birth of Popular Culture
The History of the Kiss!: The Birth of Popular Culture 3.22 avg rating — 36 ratings
68.
Sensing the Past: Seeing, Hearing, Smelling, Tasting, and Touching in History
Sensing the Past: Seeing, Hearing, Smelling, Tasting, and Touching in History 3.50 avg rating — 28 ratings
69.
A Natural History of the Senses
A Natural History of the Senses 4.15 avg rating — 7,852 ratings
70.
Insomnia: A Cultural History
Insomnia: A Cultural History 3.25 avg rating — 36 ratings
71.
Unmentionables: A Brief History of Underwear
Unmentionables: A Brief History of Underwear 3.42 avg rating — 19 ratings
72.
A Cultural History of the Senses in the Renaissance (The Cultural Histories Series, 3)
A Cultural History of the Senses in the Renaissance (The Cultural Histories Series, 3) 3.67 avg rating — 6 ratings
73.
The Ephemeral History of Perfume: Scent and Sense in Early Modern England
The Ephemeral History of Perfume: Scent and Sense in Early Modern England 4.14 avg rating — 14 ratings
74.
Psyche on the Skin: A History of Self-Harm
Psyche on the Skin: A History of Self-Harm 3.61 avg rating — 59 ratings
75.
Writing the Self: Diaries, Memoirs, and the History of the Self
Writing the Self: Diaries, Memoirs, and the History of the Self 3.60 avg rating — 10 ratings
76.
Impotence: A Cultural History
Impotence: A Cultural History 3.50 avg rating — 16 ratings
77.
Sexuality and Slavery: Reclaiming Intimate Histories in the Americas (Gender and Slavery Ser. Book 1)
Sexuality and Slavery: Reclaiming Intimate Histories in the Americas (Gender and Slavery Ser. Book 1) 4.17 avg rating — 52 ratings
78.
Virgin: The Untouched History
Virgin: The Untouched History 3.95 avg rating — 1,450 ratings
79.
Marked in Your Flesh: Circumcision from Ancient Judea to Modern America
Marked in Your Flesh: Circumcision from Ancient Judea to Modern America 4.36 avg rating — 36 ratings
80.
America and The Pill: A History of Promise, Peril, and Liberation
America and The Pill: A History of Promise, Peril, and Liberation 3.68 avg rating — 423 ratings
81.
Ugliness: A Cultural History
Ugliness: A Cultural History 3.51 avg rating — 216 ratings
82.
The Curse: A Cultural History of Menstruation
The Curse: A Cultural History of Menstruation 3.52 avg rating — 85 ratings
83.
Character: The History of a Cultural Obsession
Character: The History of a Cultural Obsession 3.21 avg rating — 34 ratings
84.
Handwriting in America: A Cultural History
Handwriting in America: A Cultural History 3.71 avg rating — 38 ratings
85.
American Niceness: A Cultural History
American Niceness: A Cultural History 4.07 avg rating — 14 ratings
86.
Who Cut the Cheese?: A Cultural History of the Fart
Who Cut the Cheese?: A Cultural History of the Fart 3.52 avg rating — 160 ratings
87.
Smells: A Cultural History of Odours in Early Modern Times
Smells: A Cultural History of Odours in Early Modern Times 3.51 avg rating — 82 ratings
88.
A Cultural History of Twin Beds
A Cultural History of Twin Beds liked it 3.00 avg rating — 7 ratings
89.
With the Hand: A Cultural History of Masturbation
With the Hand: A Cultural History of Masturbation 3.20 avg rating — 40 ratings
90.
A Cultural History of Pregnancy: Pregnancy, Medicine and Culture, 1750-2000
A Cultural History of Pregnancy: Pregnancy, Medicine and Culture, 1750-2000 3.69 avg rating — 13 ratings
91.
The Deepest Sense: A Cultural History of Touch
The Deepest Sense: A Cultural History of Touch 3.86 avg rating — 49 ratings
92.
Then Comes Marriage?: A Cultural History of the American Family
Then Comes Marriage?: A Cultural History of the American Family 3.80 avg rating — 5 ratings
93.
Perfume: Joy, Scandal, Sin - A Cultural History of Fragrance from 1750 to the Present
Perfume: Joy, Scandal, Sin - A Cultural History of Fragrance from 1750 to the Present 3.93 avg rating — 29 ratings
94.
O: The Intimate History of the Orgasm
O: The Intimate History of the Orgasm 3.61 avg rating — 212 ratings
95.
The Origins of Sex: A History of the First Sexual Revolution
The Origins of Sex: A History of the First Sexual Revolution 3.80 avg rating — 420 ratings