Alfred C. Kinsey: A Public-Private Life
James H. Jones
In this brilliant biography of sex researcher Alfred C. Kinsey, Jones unlocks the long-closed archives of the Kinsey Institute to present a moving & even shocking portrait of the man who pierced the veil of reticence surrounding human sexuality. Here is an incisive portrait that truly separates the myth from the man. Shows that the public image of disinterested biologist cultivated by Kinsey was a carefully crafted public persona. The Kinsey who emerges here was a social reformer who devoted his every waking hour to the destruction of sexual repression. Kinsey's life is much more than the story of a scientist who sparked the cultural debate of our century. His odyssey illustrates in microcosm the transition from Victorian to modern times. Photos.
Award History
0 wins · 1 total
| Award | Year | Result | Category / Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pulitzer Prize in Biography or AutobiographyMajor | 1998 | Finalist | Secondary source |
Experimental book profileGenerated by GPT-5.4 nano · may contain inaccuracies
This is an unverified interpretation of the catalog description, offered as an opt-in discovery experiment—not as bibliographic fact.
01 Central figures
- Alfred C. Kinsey93%
02 Central places
None extracted with sufficient confidence.
03 Suggested argument
Jones shows that Alfred C. Kinsey’s public image as a disinterested biologist was a carefully crafted persona, masking his work as a social reformer focused on destroying sexual repression.
Model confidence 74%
04 Reading orientation
45 / 100 academicTrade / academic crossover
An estimate of intended readership and scholarly apparatus—not quality or importance.
Confidence percentages are the model's own estimates. Profile confidence: 82%.