Kama Sutra of Sexual Positions by Secret Garden Publishing - review by Kimmie1980ca

The author is Kenneth Ray Stubbs, who has a Ph.D, is a certified sexologist and a certified masseur. He was originally trained as a sociologist, he eventually studied and gave training's in massage and sexuality for both the general public and sex therapists throughout North America and Europe. He also taught as an adjunct faculty member at the Institute for the Advanced Study of Human Sexuality in San Francisco. He is also the author of eight books on sexuality, where you can view on his website:.

The Illustrator of the book is Kyle Spencer, who is a freelance illustrator residing in Oakland, California. She has a bachelors degree from the Academy of Art College in San Francisco. Her art appears in Erotic Massage, The Essential Tantra, Erotic Passions, and Kiss of Desire, as well as in Tantra: The Magazine and Ecstasy Journal.

The designer is Richard Stodart, who is a professional artist for over 25 years. A native to Trinidad, West Indies, his work has been described as "sensitively thoughtful yet translucent, combining the wild electricity of wakefulness with the vived languor of lucid dreaming."
For more on his work visit his website:

"Kama Sutra of Sexual Positions: The Tantric Art of Love", is a gorgeous book that would make for an excellent gift. This book is a work of art when it comes to the photos, and art that is throughout. The book starts out with a page advertising the author's other books, the covers of each as well as dvd's available. The next page is the title page, with the author and illustrators information, along with some pretty art work, as well as the "Secret Garden" publishing logo.



The next page is dedicated to the publishing information, as well as a paragraph stating:
"A Word of Caution"...
"The purpose of this book is to educate and inspire. It is not intended to give medical or psychological therapy. Whenever there is concern about physical or emotional illness, a qualified professional should be consulted."
It goes on for three paragraphs... but my favorite part is:
"So take responsibility for your own health. Please don't get stuck in a position you can't get out of." I got a bit of a chuckle reading it!

The next page in the Table of Contents, which isn't really needed, but quite helpful. It breaks the book down in these categories:

- Introduction
- Ancient Lovers
- Kama Sutra
- The Perfumed Garden
- Ananga-Ranga
- Inshimpo
- A Chronology of Sexual Embrace
- Abought the Author and Artists
- Acknowledgments



This book is broken down into two main parts: history, and sexual positions. There's many photos of ancient sexual art and many gorgeous hand drawn art. There's only 63 pages in total, and looks a bit like a high end magazine. This book is almost like a history textbook, and there's a lot more reading then you would expect. I sat and read the book for hours, when I originally thought I would just glance through it at a quicker pace.

In the introduction chapter, the author goes into great detail the early history going back to thirteenth century India. He discusses the Ishimpo, the Bible, the Perfumed Garden (an early North African Arabic text) as well as the Kama Sutra and Ananga-Ranga. Throughout the book it mentions that it may take many years of practice, and yoga to achieve many of the positions.

The next chapter is the "Ancient Lovers", which talks about more ancient sexual writings, and art.



The next 4 chapters are: "Kama Sutra," "The Perfumed Garden," "Ananga-Ranga," and "Ishimpo." These chapters discuss many different sexual positions, and depict many different sexual works of art. I find the description of most positions to be well explained, however, there's no matching work of art next to them. It would have been more helpful to see a diagram of the sexual act, to make it easier to copy. There are many positions that are fairly easy for most people... I found the positions in the "The Perfumed Garden" to have the best descriptions.



The last chapter which is before the "About the Author" and "Acknowledgments" is called "A Chronology of Sexual Embrace." It's basically a timeline of sex, starting from 3500 B.C.E (before common era, equivalent to BC), and ending with 1970 CE (common era, equivalent to AD).

The book is written like a college textbook, and had a lot more reading then I was expecting. The best feature of this book is the art, and the poetry.

The book measures 11" in height, and 8.5" in width, and only 1/4" in thickness. It looks like a good quality magazine, but written in the style of a college textbook. The cover is soft, and has a matte finish to it. The front cover is mainly orange and tan colors, with a lot of browns. There's an Indian style building in the background, almost looks like a Mosque or a Temple. In the middle there is a white couple kissing and embracing each other... both nude.



The back cover is mainly a light orange-yellow color, and has a description:



"Kama Sutra of Sexual Positions"

"Over 100 images of lovers in sexual enbrace - the best from"
- Kama Sutra
- Ananga-Ranga
- The Perfumed Garden
- Ishimpo
- Song of Songs
- other traditions and other times"

"Kama Sutra comes to us from fourth-centery India. Written by a holy man, this "love scripture" has become known in the West as a "boble of sex." As such, Kama Sutra of Sexual Positions presents many facets of sexual embrace from many cultures where the sexual and the sacred together are the weaver of the tapestry of life.

Enjoy the beauty and passion of ancient lovers before us:

- Mare's position
- Suspended congress
- The somersault
- The ostrich's tail
- Drawing the bow
- Camel's hump
- Blacksmith's posture
- Dragon turns over
- The phoenix flutters
- Cranes with necks intertwined"

The book is truly gorgeous and is a work of art. I've studied art history for many years, so to me this reminded me of an art history textbook... but with sex! The color is so rich in this book, and the poetry is beautifully written. The only thing I wish is that the actually sex position descriptions, matched with the art work next to it. It would have made it much easier to have diagrams next to every position listed, to help with a visual aspect.

Another thing that annoyed me about this book is the binding. It's very difficult to follow and read about a certain position, when the book doesn't stay open. It would have been nicer if it was a wire binding, so you would be able to keep the book open and have your hands free for pleasure.

This book is written with positions for heterosexual couples, and nothing for same sex couples.