Simon LeVay Books

Dr. Roger Cavendish, a leading researcher into the mysteries of sexuality and the mind, finds himself faced with a mystery straight out of his worst nightmares.Violence is on the rise at ultraconservative Levitican University -- and Cavendish becomes a reluctant gumshoe, busily involved in discovering what fuels this sudden rise in brutal crime. The truth seems to lie somewhere in the laboratory of Dr. Guy Albrick -- an enigmatic scientist who claims to have developed a cure for homosexuality. Soon, Cavendish is in a race with time, struggling to unlock the secrets of Albrick's work as the wave of violence threatens to overtake him and all others in its path.

Simon LeVay introduces readers to a memorable cast of researchers trying to unravel the many mysteries that surround sex and sexuality. He distills vast expertise on the biology and psychology of sex into an engaging and easy-to- understand survey with scientific acumen, a critical eye, and a sense of humor.

In May 1995, neurologist Curt Freed began one of the most dramatic experiments in the history of medicine: the attempt to treat sufferers of Parkinson's disease by grafting human stem cells into their brains. Of the forty patients who volunteered for Freed's new treatment, half underwent authentic surgery. The other half, who had received placebo surgery, felt their last hope dissolve into bitter frustration. But the hardest road lay ahead for those who had been given the highly experimental procedure. Healing the Brain captures the emotional events that unfolded in the months afterward as Freed, his researchers, and their courageous, desperate patients awaited the outcome and witnessed a moral debate unfolding across the nation over embryonic stem-cell medicine. Would the brain regenerate itself or reject the new cells? This pioneering team was willing to take perilous risks to find out. Healing the Brain is a moving, fascinating narrative about discovery and disillusionment, conflict and compassion, suffering and -- for some -- amazing success.

What causes a child to grow up gay or straight? Neuroscientist Simon LeVay summarizes a wealth of scientific evidence that points to one inescapable conclusion: Sexual orientation results primarily from an interaction between genes, sex hormones, and the cells of the developing body and brain. LeVay takes the reader on a whirlwind tour of laboratories that specialize in genetics, endocrinology, neuroscience, cognitive psychology, evolutionary psychology, and family demographics. He describes, for instance, how researchers have manipulated the sex hormone levels of animals during development, causing them to mate preferentially with animals of their own gender. In this second edition, LeVay adds a chapter on bisexuality, reviews some uncommon forms of sexuality, and considers whether there could be a biological basis for subtypes of gay people such as "butch" and "femme" lesbians.