Reviewed by C+D reader Kevin Frost, a senior hospital clinical pharmacist who does community locums

Male sexual health is an area of medicine previously shrouded in embarrassment - that shroud has been pierced by the HIV scare of the 1980s and the arrival of Viagra in the late 1990s. This book of essays from two prominent academics looks at the current state of knowledge in this field.

As the authors recognise, the subject is still under-researched and frequently limited to the treatment of specific diseases. As in many other health fields there are moves to consider a holistic view of healthy sexual function as the goal, rather than the treatment of STDs, male cancers and disorders of reproduction. The quality of the prose varies between the contributors. At least one of the chapters is written in a painfully academic style, requiring me to Google a few sociological terms; whereas others are very readable.

The main thrust of this book is the psychosocial aspects of male sexual health. Understanding the male ego is key to the reason why men tend to ignore symptoms more than women – and that's even for symptomatic disease in unembarrassing health matters. The target audience appears to be academics and those running or planning sexual health services; rather than generalist practitioners.

If you're a community pharmacist with sufficient rapport with male customers that you can discuss what they'd wouldn't tell their GP, perhaps you'd do well to consider this book. Otherwise, the CPPE package on men's health is a far more worthwhile use of your time.