History Of Celibacy Tpb

Celibacy is a worldwide practice that is often adopted rarely discussed. Now in Elizabeth Abbott's fascinating and wide-ranging history it is examined in all its various forms: shaping religious lives conditioning athletes and shamans surfacing in classical poetry and camp literature resonating in the voices of castrati and permeating ancient mythology. Found in every society of the past practiced by both the anonymous and the legendary (St. Catherine Joan of Arc Leonardo da Vinci Elizabeth I Gandhi) celibacy has as many stories as adherents and Abbott weaves them into a provocative seamless tapestry that brings history alive.