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Rating: 
Summary: Brace yourself, then dive into the Sensurround Edition!
Review: Subtitled "A Compendium of Phycho-Physiological Investigation," what you get in the Amok Journal's SENSURROUND EDITION is a collection of reports, articles and general research on autoerotic fatalities, trepanation, Gualtiero Jacopetti, cargo cults, Neue Slowenische Kunst, self-mutilation and amputee fetishism, infrasound and a collection of true emergency room reports called "Psych-Out."All of the material presented here is true. Some of it seems unbelievable but all the reports here are covering behaviors that these people were engaging in willingly (even some of the fatal ones) for the purpose of having some sort of heightened sensory experience. Nearly all of this behavior does NOT involve drugs, focusing more on altered experience through altered body state. Not for the easily squeamish. Despite the extreme subject matter, this volume is highly intelligent and an amazing psychological peek into the fringes of human experiences.
Rating:
Summary: Anthropological oddities
Review: This book covers a broad range of activities, from drilling holes in your head to ultra-sound weaponry, but treats all of them fairly and intelligently. This is one of the few books that I have read in my life that fascinated me. And though the content may seems outrageous it is not presented for shock values, rather just an content.
Rating:
Summary: Anthropological oddities
Review: This book covers all the areas that fascinate: including auto-erotic deaths, crazy amputee fetishism, mondo movies, and trepanation, as well as many others. What lifts this book into the realm of the VERY SPECIAL is that it is so complete, collecting together the kind of strange facts and ideas from all manner of sources that most people don't have access too. Moreover, because the sources are often specialized journals and so forth, the tone is intelligent rather than purely salacious (although, thankfully, there is a little of that too). The illustrations are pretty good - especially in the amputation section. I'd say this was pretty much ESSENTIAL READING.
Rating: 
Summary: Compendium of the bizarre
Review: This book covers an eclectic selection of essays. My favorite is the story of the plight of the poor computer programmer who sees himself as a tiger, and the lengths to which he anthropomorphizes himself.
Rating:
Summary: Quite comprehensive for it's size.
Review: This book is a fascinating introduction to all kinds of things your mother never let you read, much less think about. If you're at all interested in serious, scientific discussions of some rather bizarre topics -- ranging from autoerotic stimulation (with a twist or two), to the physiological and psychological effects of having a small hole drilled in your head, then this is a book for you. I rate it a four not for any shortcomings of it's own, but because it pales in comparison to the Amok Sourcebook, a much more comprehensive version of the Sensurround edition -- check them both out. DO NOT LET THE SUBJECT MATTER DETER YOU -- COME WITH AN OPEN MIND AND SEE WHAT'S GOING ON OUT THERE!
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