Eccentric and Bizarre Behaviors

Though it bills itself as a work in the tradition of Oliver Sacks, this uneven, objectifying collection is more like a turn-of-the-last-century compendium of medical curiosities. Half of this catalogue focuses on sex, with chapters on erotomania, autoerotic asphyxia and necrophilia, among other titillating topics; the remainder deals with provocative subjects including Munchausen's Syndrome by Proxy and trichotillomania, the desire to pull out one's hair (a chapter on vampirism seems strangely out of place). The writing throughout is choppy, but the book's most disturbing aspect is its tone, which wavers between professional and pop-psych. The authors fail to humanize these behaviors, and they slide repeatedly into descriptions that are insulting, if amusing. Thus the reader learns that ``a surprising number of penis injuries occur as a result of establishing too close a relationship with vacuum cleaners.'' More insidiously, the murderer Prasenjit Poddar is called ``a rejected lover'' (which he was not), sloppy language that imputes some responsibility for her own death to his victim, Tanya Tarasoff. Though each chapter concludes with a smidgen of theory and a passing note on treatment, these seem strangely disconnected in mood and style from the rest of the contents. The volume's intended audience is unclear, but it will probably appeal most to those whose knowledge of the variety of human experience comes from talk-show experts who substitute the display of oddities for a modicum of human compassion. (May)