Vaginas An Owner's Manual

An engaging, thorough, and much-needed explanation of the working vagina, Vaginas is a book of accessible facts written by down-to-earth authors whose only agenda is female education. The authors (the mother is an ob/gyn, the daughter a writer) avoid the flowery language and feminist agenda of other books on the subject. They take readers from the mood swings of puberty to the hot flashes of menopause with warmth, humor, and candor. Subjects include the lowdown on hymens, a word on waxing, tips on retrieving lost items, heavy periods, working out the vagina, significant problems (STDs, ectopic pregnancies, fibroids, yeast infections, herpes), ways to keep an aging body performing, and the fun stuff sex.

Dr. Carol Livoti, M.D. has a private obstetrics/gynecology practice on Manhattan's Upper East Side. Elizabeth Topp is a 1999 Harvard grad who works as a research assistant for Al Franken. This is their first book. Mother and daughter live in New York City.