Polymath is the first biography of one of the most remarkable and wide-ranging intellectuals of the second half of the 20th century. Alex Comfort was a British poet, novelist, biologist, cultural critic, activist, and anarchist, and the author of the international bestseller, The Joy of Sex. He played a vital role in making gerontology (the study of aging) a viable branch of modern science, energising the direct-action movement for nuclear disarmament, revitalising anarchism as a political philosophy in the post-World War II decades, and persuading 12 million readers of his most popular book to banish guilt and anxiety from sex in favor of pleasure and closer human understanding. The Joy of Sex spent eleven weeks atop the NYT bestseller list-and seventy-two weeks in the top five. But the book took on a life of its own as a couple generations of youth and adults used The Joy of Sex as a tool to understand pleasure outside the realm of guilt and shame and opened the doors to a healthier sexual culture. Laursen's book relates the event-filled life of a brilliant and complex figure, including his victory over a possibly career-ending disability, his tumultuous second marriage, his struggles with the scientific establishment, and the fascinating story of the making of The Joy of Sex. It will be vital reading for anyone who wants to understand how the personal became political and the political became personal in the last 100 years.
