Title: The Humble Little Condom: A History Author: Aine Collier Publisher: Prometheus Books Publish Date: 2007 Pages: 348 Genres:: History, Non-Fiction, Sociology Reviewer: Chris R. Morgan

Rating:

After reading Aine Collier's informative little page-turner on the rubber and its miraculous journey through human civilization, it has occurred to me that religious leaders aren't what they used to be. Whereas today, the faithful hierarchy are more than stoked to dissuade the flock from downing a raincoat, Collier argues that it was the religious leaders who did the early research on birth-control techniques in the Middle Ages. Not only did they research from ancient texts, they went so far as to experiment on their own techniques. How they went about that she does not say, but in all honesty, even the priests had to acknowledge that the world sucked most heinously back then, someone had to figure out why so many kids were popping out and how best to plug it up. It's God's will, apparently.

All ironies aside, however, that one anecdote should hint at the many splendors of reading this elaborate, thought-provoking history. I always say you can never go wrong with a historical text of this nature, not just because I like history but because there's a load of hilarious true stories of human folly for the whole family—even the dirty ones. Collier's book bursts with just those kinds of narratives. Going back as far as the ancient period of the Egyptians, who were big on make skirts that emphasized anatomy and, no joke, papyrus condoms, and goes from there. The condom's various forms range from period to period, as did its relevance. There was a bit of a resurgence in the late-1400s when Christopher Columbus' crew came back to Europe with the "great pox," better known as the ever reliable mental destabilizer: syphilis. 

Collier's prose delicately weaves narrative to narrative. It's clear, intelligent and witty as it slightly shifts in style from flirty professor to tawdry party lecturer. Perhaps most entertaining of her passages is her section on one of the late-19th century’s biggest buzzkills, Anthony Comstock, a poorly educated, untalented but tenacious leader that came into prominence as America's leading crusader of all things cool and sexy. To Collier, Comstock represents the deranged and power-hungry intolerance fueled by God-knows-what to impose one's uptight will upon the populace regardless of what they thought. He would so far as to invade the workplaces and homes of manufacturers and even arrest people on the most casual circumstances when it came to condoms. Apparently, Comstock sealed one stereotype of Americans as moral busybodies going around showing nudie pictures to kids and telling them how gross it is.

Such are only a few treasures to savor from The Humble Little Condom. What Collier really captures is the twists and turns of human sexual perception. One minute, it's the monks who stumble upon the reproductive process and how to control it, the next they condemn preventative measures. Collier touches on peculiar innovations—I finally know what a codpiece is, and it feels good. But she also touches on some interesting innovations. Apparently, the true creator of the condom as we know it is Gabriello Fallopio, guess what else he discovered, eh?  If there's anything good that comes out of this book is that it is a uniter.  It unites the Libertines in knowing that there have always been people who found sex an act of pleasure as well as practicality. Misanthropes will rejoice as well knowing that there have always been important people striving day and night to come up with simple methods to keep the world overflowing with people. Can you feel the love?  I certainly can.