Taking Precautions - Tapa blanda

Taking Precautions delves into a subject that has touched almost all adult lives at some point or another and continues to fascinate and perplex simultaneously: birth control. Taking Precautions gives a fascinating account of the often imaginative ways in which humans throughout history have tried to prevent themselves from propagating the race. These range from crocodile dung pessaries, diaphragms made from lemon halves and the linen condoms pioneered by the Italian anatomist Falloppio in the 16th century, through to the breakthrough of the Pill - and the women's liberation it represented - in the 1960s and beyond to the 21st century. Although the methods of today are relatively sophisticated, a foolproof form of contraception has yet to be found if the number of unplanned pregnancies each year is anything to go by. With fascinating illustrations, Taking Precautions is an engrossing, thorough, down-to-earth and amusing history of an often taboo subject.

Shyama Perera is a writer and broadcaster. She is the author of the novels Haven't Stopped Dancing Yet (1999), Bitter Sweet Symphony (2000, Sceptre) and Do The Right Thing (2002, Sceptre) and lives in north-west London.