Swap Clubs

Published in 1964, this book presents itself as a scientific analysis of swinger culture. The opening chapters are filled with various statistics about the numbers of couples who participate in swap clubs, their social class, education levels, etc. Of course none of this data is cited so who knows if any of it is legitimate. Surely the, ahem, Breedloves are thoroughly committed to scientific rigor?

The core of the book is mostly comprised of racy anecdotal accounts of couples discovering that their hot young newlywed friends are also liberated modern marrieds. The whole thing seems like a cheap attempt to rationalize extramarital relations and, even worse than that, party games. For me an evening of Scattergories and Apples to Apples is too hefty a price to pay for even the most transcendent night of wild, unfettered lovemaking.

The authors devote the last several chapters of the book to their conclusions as to how swingers will fit in with American society as contemporary culture advances. Apparently, by 1984 swinging would be a commonplace and accepted lifestyle. They also predict that science is on the verge of eliminating the need for humans to go to the bathroom, so maybe they aren’t the most deft futurists around.