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"Fannie: The Talent for Success of Writer Fannie Hurst"
A life of one of the great trash novelists argues that (clunky metaphors aside) it's time for a revival.
By Daniel Mangin
[08/17/99]

Dear Mr. Blue
Secrets and lies
I have a past life that would raise the hair on your neck. Do I have to tell my boyfriend?
By Garrison Keillor
[08/17/99]

Book Bag
Smart and sexy
The author of "Fear of Flying" selects six novels for those who believe that the brain is the most important erogenous zone.
By Erica Jong
[08/16/99]

Ivory Tower
Who owns the clones?
A scientist sues the University of Hawaii for the rights to his research.
By Alex Salkever
[08/16/99]

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"Crimes of War"
A mixture of reportage and legal discussion adds up to an encylopedia of evil.
By Akash Kapur
[08/16/99]

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"Reich was a brilliant psychoanalyst," my own former analyst told me, "but he did go into a psychosis later in his life." Substitute any discipline for "psychoanalyst" in the preceding sentence, and you have a fair description of the philosophers and scientists whose praises I hope to sing here. Brilliant theorists all, the crackpot authorities apply wide-ranging intellects to fascinating postulates that are, if sometimes out of left field, at least plausible enough to merit discussion. And though there is something a bit south-of-sane in the works on my personal summer reading list, most of them impart valuable insights -- leavened, as well, with more than a few laughs.

As a crackpot authority, Reich is exemplary. Both readable and convincing, he is also, the reader suspects, more than a little confused about certain tenets of what constitutes reality. Take his 1939 discovery of "orgone energy." This is the stuff responsible for the aurora borealis (at least, according to Reich's theory), but it is also a form of measurable energy released by the body during sexual stimulation, which must be kept in balance if we are to lead happy, fulfilling lives.

What makes Reich's book a pleasure is not that he might have stumbled onto some heretofore-undiscovered "biophysical" force in the world (he didn't), but that he displays such genius in getting there. His psychoanalytic thesis holds that pent-up orgone energy is responsible for all manner of psychic disorders, from depression to anxiety to schizophrenia and so on. Only through achieving "orgastic potency" can one hope to cure one's ills. Orgastic potency is different from "erective" or "ejaculative" potency. It means more or less the ability to surrender oneself to a full-body orgasm.

"The pleasure of living and the pleasure of orgasm are identical," Reich says. No argument there. In fact, Reich's early work is still taught to students of psychoanalysis. It's only when he reaches the bladders that he starts to go off the rails. And when, in the last six pages of the book, he finally wraps his musings into his fully formulated "orgone theory," you know you have a crackpot authority on your hands.

As Reich amply illustrates, the crackpot authority is no mere delusional theorist. Really, it's the second term of the genre's title that carries more weight. These are some heavy hitters, some really smart guys. It's just that their genius has led them to some strange conclusions. "Orgone theory" itself may be outlandish, but there is clearly some wisdom in the thinking that preceded it. Forgive the crackpot authorities their foibles and they can provide quite an education -- even if it is not always on the subjects they intend.

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