Overview

How do we come to be who we are sexually? How do we cope with the forces of desire? How can we understand the relationship between the transcendent and the physical, between the wish for love and the anarchy of the erotic? Award-winning writer Daniel Bergner looks for answers in the stories of four people whose unusual desires raise fascinating questions about the erotic differences between men and women and the nature of ecstasy itself.

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9780060885571

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Reviews

Attentive, carefully controlled.[Bergner's] goal is empathy. He gives depth and shadow to his subjects' longing, never mocking, oversimplifying or vilifying. -- Washington Post Book World

Bergner does what science cannot: He illuminates peculiar longings. His method is at first descriptive and finally poetic. . . . Given the limitations of science, resonant journalism may be the best way to approach paraphilia, and Bergner's book has a musical quality. -- Slate In this fascinating book, Bergner, with a novelist's eye but a reporter's grit, examines amputee devotees and S&M fanatics without resorting to sensationalism. -- Metro New York Girded with scientific data about the nature of sexual identity, The Other Side of Desire is a foray into extreme passion, in quest of the human soul. -- O, The Oprah Magazine In carefully etched prose, Bergner unpacks the tightly twisted roots of desire, power seeking, self-hatred and theatricality that motivate his four pseudonymous subjects...Compassionate wisdom about dark needs. -- Kirkus Reviews Searching, deeply humane. . . . Our reactions to the stories Daniel Bergner recounts reveal as much about ourselves as they do about his oddly winning subjects. -- Jennifer Egan, bestselling author of THE KEEP Daniel Bergner's characters live in erotic no-go zones where most of us would fear to tread. Their stories will sadden, enlighten, disturb, and move you--for they are completely, intimately human. -- George Packer, New York Times bestselling author of THE ASSASSIN'S GATE Attentive, carefully controlled...[Bergner's] goal is empathy. He gives depth and shadow to his subjects' longing, never mocking, oversimplifying or vilifying. -- Washington Post Book World Unsettling but riveting....what makes [this book] so powerful is that it's as much about desire and what's normal as it is an exploration of why we are the way we are, whether we like it or not. -- New York Times Book Review

Daniel Bergner's characters live in erotic no-go zones where most of us would fear to tread. Their stories will sadden, enlighten, disturb, and move you--for they are completely, intimately human. --George Packer, New York Times bestselling author of THE ASSASSIN'S GATE

Attentive, carefully controlled.[Bergner's] goal is empathy. He gives depth and shadow to his subjects' longing, never mocking, oversimplifying or vilifying. -- Washington Post Book World Searching, deeply humane. . . . Our reactions to the stories Daniel Bergner recounts reveal as much about ourselves as they do about his oddly winning subjects. --Jennifer Egan, bestselling author of THE KEEP Bergner does what science cannot: He illuminates peculiar longings. His method is at first descriptive and finally poetic. . . . Given the limitations of science, resonant journalism may be the best way to approach paraphilia, and Bergner's book has a musical quality. --Slate Girded with scientific data about the nature of sexual identity, The Other Side of Desire is a foray into extreme passion, in quest of the human soul. --O, The Oprah Magazine Attentive, carefully controlled...[Bergner's] goal is empathy. He gives depth and shadow to his subjects' longing, never mocking, oversimplifying or vilifying. --Washington Post Book World Unsettling but riveting....what makes [this book] so powerful is that it's as much about desire and what's normal as it is an exploration of why we are the way we are, whether we like it or not. --New York Times Book Review In carefully etched prose, Bergner unpacks the tightly twisted roots of desire, power seeking, self-hatred and theatricality that motivate his four pseudonymous subjects...Compassionate wisdom about dark needs. --Kirkus Reviews In this fascinating book, Bergner, with a novelist's eye but a reporter's grit, examines amputee devotees and S&M fanatics without resorting to sensationalism. --Metro New York Daniel Bergner's characters live in erotic no-go zones where most of us would fear to tread. Their stories will sadden, enlighten, disturb, and move you--for they are completely, intimately human. --George Packer, New York Times bestselling author of THE ASSASSIN'S GATE Bergner does what science cannot: He illuminates peculiar longings. His method is at first descriptive and finally poetic. . . . Given the limitations of science, resonant journalism may be the best way to approach paraphilia, and Bergner s book has a musical quality. --Slate Girded with scientific data about the nature of sexual identity, The Other Side of Desire is a foray into extreme passion, in quest of the human soul. --O, The Oprah Magazine Searching, deeply humane. . . . Our reactions to the stories Daniel Bergner recounts reveal as much about ourselves as they do about his oddly winning subjects. --Jennifer Egan, bestselling author of THE KEEP Unsettling but riveting....what makes [this book] so powerful is that it s as much about desire and what s normal as it is an exploration of why we are the way we are, whether we like it or not. --New York Times Book Review In this fascinating book, Bergner, with a novelist s eye but a reporter s grit, examines amputee devotees and S&M fanatics without resorting to sensationalism. --Metro New York In carefully etched prose, Bergner unpacks the tightly twisted roots of desire, power seeking, self-hatred and theatricality that motivate his four pseudonymous subjects Compassionate wisdom about dark needs. --Kirkus Reviews Attentive, carefully controlled [Bergner s] goal is empathy. He gives depth and shadow to his subjects longing, never mocking, oversimplifying or vilifying. --Washington Post Book World Daniel Bergner s characters live in erotic no-go zones where most of us would fear to tread. Their stories will sadden, enlighten, disturb, and move you for they are completely, intimately human. --George Packer, New York Times bestselling author of THE ASSASSIN'S GATE

Author Information

Daniel Bergner is a contributing writer for the New York Times Magazine and the author of five previous books of award-winning nonfiction: the New York Times bestselling Sing for Your Life, What Do Women Want?, The Other Side of Desire, In the Land of Magic Soldiers, and God of the Rodeo. His writing has also appeared in the Atlantic, Granta, Harper's Magazine, Mother Jones, Talk, and the New York Times Book Review.

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