Talking Cock (Richard Herring, 2003)

In my quest to read those books that have been sitting on my shelf for far too long I picked up Talking Cock: A Celebration of Man and his Manhood. Written by comedian Richard Herring after a show of the same name, I found that once I'd started I couldn't put this book down! That's not just because the subject matter is fascinating, it's because Herring's writing is hilarious, literally laugh-out-loud funny, it had me in stitches. It's not just a bunch of 'knob gags' though, rather an interesting insight into 'man's best friend' and his relationship with it. 

Using a home-made online questionnaire to solicit opinions from men and women about penises, asking questions about the size, use of and satisfaction with it, among other things, along with copious research into scientific and cultural writings on the subject, Herring provides a thought-provoking treatise on the cock. He looks at the penis and it's treatment through history, he looks at the medical, scientific parts of it, examines circumcision, considers masturbation and sex, and everything else inbetween. 

What could have been a crude endeavour with no real substance turns out to be one of the funniest and most informative books I've read on any subject. If only all non-fiction was this entertaining! I'm a bit nervous about searching for the picture to accompany the article though, typing 'Talking Cock' into Google could throw up some interesting suggestions.