Saharasia: The 4000 BCE Origins of Child Abuse, Sex-Repression, Warfare and Social Violence In the Deserts of the Old World

Author: James DeMeo

Saharasia: The 4000 BCE Origins of Child Abuse, Sex-Repression, Warfare and Social Violence In the Deserts of the Old World by James DeMeo. $34.00. Ashland, Oregon: Orgone Biophysical Research Lab, Inc.; 1998. Telephone/fax 541-552-0118. Email demeo@mind.net. http://www.orgonelab.org/xbjdemeo.htm Review by J. Steven Svoboda.

This ambitious, 454-page large-format book aspires to do no less than to “change forever [our] way of looking at the world, [our] home culture and current events.” Surveying a broad range of issues starting with Wilhelm Reich’s theories of human behavior, Saharasia seeks to demonstrate a worldwide trend from woman-centered, peaceful societies to more male-centered, “armored” approaches. To support these theories, the author provides a detailed discussion of the global geography of a broad range of social institutions, including male and female genital mutilations. Surprisingly, “homosexuality” is treated as a social maladaptation comparable to genital mutilations, prostitution, and the like. While I retain doubts about the reliability of some of the analysis and source materials, Saharasia never fails to provoke and intrigue.