Edgework (Hardback)

What do skydiving, rock climbing and downhill skiing have in common with stock-trading, vandalism, unprotected sex and sadomasochism? All are high risk pursuits. This book will introduce the reader to the world of voluntary risk-taking, investigating the seductive nature of pursuing peril and teasing out boundaries between legal and criminal behavior; conscious and unconscious acts; sanity and insanity;acceptable risk and stupidity. Lyng has been writing about what he calls "edgework" for the past decade and has managed to form a profile of those who live life on the edge. Topics covered include: juvenile delinquency, rape, sadomasochism, avant-garde art, business risks and extreme sport., as well as the recent success of books that write about risk like Into Thin Air and The Perfect Storm .