Electroboy: A Memoir of Mania [Paperback]

"Behrman’s chronicle of his descent into madness reads like a kind of rake’s progress for the late 20th century"

"Behrman writes so vividly that his turbulent mood swings are brought to the page unnervingly intact…This true story is remarkable"

"Electroboy is the story of a very modern lost soul"

...his tales of drugs, sex'n'spending sprees are as fascinating and as repellent as a road accident --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Behrman's chronicle of his descent into madness reads like a kind of Rake's Progress for the late 20th century --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

"Behrman writes so vividly that his turbulent mood swings are brought to the page unnervingly intact…This true story is remarkable" --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

"Electroboy is the story of a very modern lost soul" --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Andy Behrman was Superman. He slept three hours a day. He learned new languages in a week. He was a dealer, a hustler and an art forger who made millions. He flew from Geneva to Anguilla then back again to balance out the hot and cold. He gave strangers spontaneous gifts of thousands of dollars from the cash he kept in a refrigerator. Then he was arrested for art forgery, went to prison and soon after that found out he was mad. Following intensive bouts of electric shock therapy, he was cured. No longer Superman, but Electroboy. This is his story.

"Electroboy is like a non-fiction version of American Psycho…His life is a metaphor for the ‘80s – everything is overblown and out of control. But Electroboy is also a sensitive account of manic depression – medication, analysis, an obsession with suicide and, finally, electric shock treatment. This fusion is pure genius." Dazed & Confused

"Andy Behrman’s Electroboy truly is an astonishing piece of writing…That it really happened to the author is, quite frankly, astounding, tragic and hilarious by turns…even sober and sane he is totally outrageous…He makes Elizabeth Wurtzel, America’s queen of drugs and depression, look like Mary Poppins" Sunday Express --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Andy Behrman has published a number of articles in The New York Times. This is his first book. He lives in New York.