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God's Doodle
God's Doodle
Apr 20, 2025 8:55 PM

Author:Tom Hickman

God's Doodle

Throughout history man has revered his penis as his 'most precious ornament'.

Yet, ambivalently, his penis has always been the source of man's deepest neuroses too. Do women find it, in the erect state, inherently ridiculous? Why can't a man be certain his penis will stand and deliver when he commands? If and when it steadfastly refuses, what can he do to remedy the situation? And then, of course, there's the matter of size...

To possess a penis, Sophocles said, is to be 'chained to a madman'. God's Doodle examines the schizophrenic relationship between man and this madman - and the joint relationship this odd couple has with the female sex.

God's Doodle is the tale of the penis and the ups and downs of history - the macabre and the bloodcurdling, the funny and the sad, distilled from myth, world cultures, religion, literature, science, medicine and contemporary life - all told with mordant wit.

Reviews

Tom Hickman tells the story of [the penis’] ups and downs with enthusiasm and a mostly straight face in “God’s Doodle”, a biography of what the dust jacket calls man’s “most precious ornament”.
Mr Hickman goes, like so many men have gone before, where the penis takes him, and in the process answers a number of questions. Did Shylock want to castrate Antonio in “The Merchant of Venice”? Possibly. Is ingesting semen harmful? Quite the opposite. Mr Hickman claims it could protect against breast cancer. Where does Viagra get its name? Through the fusion of “virility” and “Niagara”, as in the falls. “God’s Doodle” is a seminal work.

—— The Economist

Hickman has a dry, wry, light-on-his-feet style...enjoyably witty

—— Metro

The perfect man book, brimming with funny facts

—— Antonia Charlesworth , Big Issue, North

Tom Hickman tells the story of its ups and downs with enthusiasm and a mostly straight face

—— The Economist

Hugely relieved that I would not be required to do any man-hugging or shout, 'I'm a wonderful father' to myself in a mirror, I was then amazed at how quickly Lorraine helped me find clear solutions to my niggle. Though cringingly obvious now, the answers were not quite so clear when I was up to my eyeballs in toys, work, questions about kittens, sleepovers, friends, cooking, more questions about kittens, maintaining a meaningful and fulfilling relationship with my partner, whilst at the same time trying to be a fun, positive, kitty-loving role model at all times. Implement the changes and watch things improve - it's as simple as that.

—— Dave Smith, Parenting Writer

Instead of prescriptive dos and don’ts to stop the little darlings from murdering each other, the authors suggest roles to suit different situations.

—— Families Magazine

Thanks for the advice. I will definitely try these techniques.

—— Rosy Bennett, AskAMum.co.uk

With wit punctuating lambent nostalgia, Erica Heller brings her father to life in an animated, absorbing fashion, documenting his quirky habits, celebrity, and "invisible, unfathomable inner cycle," but also her parents' divorce and Heller's suffering with Guillain-Barre syndrome. The total effect is akin to leafing through a bulging family scrapbook where one finds a few blurry images among many snapshots in sharp focus. Erica Heller has inherited her father's finely tuned flair with words

—— Publishers Weekly

Intimate, yet well-researched..comedic and poignant, her many-faceted memoir is rendered in high-definition as Heller recounts meals, travels, parties, arguments, lies, and the serious illnesses that afflicted her and her parents. Writing with wit, compassion, aplomb, and no little wonder at what her father wrought and her mother endured and how this legacy shaped her, Heller presents an involving and invaluable work of personal and cultural history.

—— Booklist

Heller's family memoir brims with warm reflections right from the opening chapters... An affectionate family scrapbook crafted with a bittersweet blend of humor and pathos

—— Kirkus Reviews

Erica Heller to me is like a Carrie Fisher on the East Coast. She is as authentic as they come

—— Richard Lewis, comedian, actor, author

Erica Heller has a story to tell and I for one am eager to see it in print. I think this is going to be one hell(er) of a memoir

—— Christopher Buckley, author of Losing Mum and Pup

The New York of the period leaps off the page

—— Emma Hagestadt , Independent

Heller's domestic side is evoked with painful detail by his daughter, Erica, in her well written, occasionally harrowing memoir, Yossarian Slept Here

—— Sunday Times

Likeable memoir...just as Daugherty is blind to the limitations of Heller's work so he appears resistant to personal criticism of Heller or rebuke. Just One Catch is no hagiography but, of these two biographical accounts on Yossarian Slept Here gives us the gruff, arrogant big shot; the smug cocky fellow who sometimes showed up to friend's cocktail parties for the sheer fun of insulting them

—— Leo Robson , Financial Times
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