The contraceptive pill is widely assumed to have had a revolutionary effect on society, but its origins and the changes it is said to have brought about have not been fully explored. A recent history of the pill by Elizabeth Watkins did much to fill that gap (On the Pill: A Social History of Oral Contraceptives, 1950–1970. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1998). Sexual Chemistry adds both an international perspective and a rich level of detail to the story.