Birds-and-Bees Approach Is Out

Love and Sex in Plain Language, fourth edition, by Eric W. Johnson (Harper & Row: $12.95).

This sensible guide to sex education is now in its fourth edition. Eric W. Johnson writes simply enough for a 10th grader to understand, but includes enough information--enhanced with charts of anatomy and pertinent diagrams--to hold value even for many knowledgeable adults.

“Sex is power,” Johnson observes, but it must be combined with self-respect, communication and consideration for others to result in both physical pleasure and psychological satisfaction.

Avoiding both the coldly clinical approach and birds-and-bees coyness, Johnson covers all aspects of reproduction. His chapter on fertilization, pregnancy and birth is a gem. Sections on the main forms of contraception include a reliability chart, and sexually transmitted diseases are dealt with forthrightly.

For teens, the “Are You Ready?” chart, reprinted from Elizabeth Winship’s syndicated column, stresses “patience, self-control and understanding.”

A 50-point test completes a whiz of a book that could easily serve in lieu of formal sex-education classes or be used as an enlightening text whenever the enlightenment time arrives.