A Mind of Its Own: A Cultural History of the Penis

The book is set up in different time periods, beginning with Mesopotamia and ending with current Western beliefs about the male sex organ, ranging from being considered divine to being hidden.[2][3] Two of the major focuses of the book are Sigmund Freud's sexual theories and the erection industry such as Viagra. In the descriptions of how different religions have treated human penes, Friedman said that Christians started the trend of not liking the portrayal of the male sex organ.[3] There is a chapter about pseudoscientists who try to link penis size to race, while the last chapter of the book only focuses on the erection industry.[4]

Ian Sansom of The Guardian described the book as a work of philosophy in its own way.[5] Wisam Mansour of the Journal of Men, Masculinities and Spirituality said that the book is written "in a scholarly manner coupled with a sense of humor".[6] Marcelle D'Argy Smith, writing for the New Statesman commented that "Friedman’s book reads like a Hollywood epic" as a mix of "sex, death, torture, self-destruction, heroes, villains, love, drugs, money and high-tech machinery."[7]

A Seattle Times review said the book is "embarrassingly europhallocentric".[3]

A book review in the Journal of the History of Sexuality describes the book as "high journalism" – neither based on history nor culture in an acceptable manner.[2]