******Several pages have yellow highlights, as pictured.***** In the current, fast-paced information age, implicit and explicit images and messages relating to sex and sexuality abound. But sex and sexuality often are misconstrued and misunderstood by those who perceive them through the narrow lens of their own place and time. Middleton's fundamentally anthropological treatment explores universal human sexuality in conjunction with its local manifestations in specific cultural contexts. He distributes many case studies throughout to illustrate the exploration of such topics as the body, patterns of sexuality, sexual behavior, romantic passion, marriage, and kinship, among others. This lively, authoritative text fills unrealized gaps in knowledge by taking readers to new realms in understanding themselves and "others."