Prometheus Books This multidisciplinary handbook consists of 24 chapters and 585 pages by 31 well-known authors, including psychiatrists, psychologists, historians, researchers, and criminologists. Most of the contributors are from the United States, but several are from other countries including Canada, The Netherlands, Great Britain, and Russia. Each chapter has a list of references and the book ends with a useful subject index. In the introduction, the editors note that the different chapters present divergent viewpoints, some overlapping but others incompatible, which is an accurate representation of contemporary sexology. Part I addresses the history of society's attitudes toward sexual behavior across time. The nine chapters cover behaviors labeled as deviant, the sodomy laws, rape, prostitution, auto asphyxiation, the paraphilias, transsexualism and sex reassignment, and sexual harassment. Part II consists of six chapters on how to respond to, investigate, and intervene when there are allegations of child sexual abuse, case management for victims and offenders, the hysteria over satanic abuse, and the current outbreak of recovered memories of "repressed" or "dissociated" abuse. Part III deals with public policy, and the nine chapters chronicle America's intolerance and fear of sexuality. This section covers public policy, AIDS, pornography, abortion, and sexual policies in China and Russia. The section ends with a chapter by Underwager and Wakefield on the implications of Daubert vs. Merrell Dow for expert testimony and a chapter by Paul Okami on how professionals, including sexologists, have allowed advocacy to contaminate their research. The book ends with an epilogue by Jerome Miller, a criminologist, who charges professionals in corrections with arrogance in treating sex offenders. Reading this book is a challenging task. Many of the chapters present a perspective that is rarely found in standard, politically correct child abuse literature. The book raises important questions and deserves a serious readership. It is strongly recommended. Reviewed by LeRoy G. Schultz, Professor Emeritus of Social Work, West Virginia University.
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