Perspective

The author, Nancy Friday, is a woman who has had sexual fantasies most of her life. Ms. Friday recalls some of her fantasies in the introduction to this book, remarking on how a lover once became outraged when she told him of a fantasy she had while they were making love. This led Ms. Friday to become curious about other women's fantasies and whether there was something strange or abnormal about her own. Ms. Friday began telling some of her friends that she intended to write a book about sexual fantasies and quickly discovered that the very idea caused a great deal of excitement in her normally quiet and reserved friends. Conversations began about the most intimate details of these women's lives, beginning for Ms. Friday a path of discovery that not only led to this book, but to a career in the study of sexuality.

Ms. Friday's...