Out Of Babylon

Richard Grossinger, an anthropologist by training, a cultural rebel by inclination, and supposed heir apparent to the great, eponymous Catskill resort by birth, presents an intense, personal story in the form of a & quot; nonfiction novel.& quot; Grossinger recounts old dreams, lists every college course in which he enrolled, and enumerates the courses he taught.

Then there's the tarot, tai chi, and homeopathic studies; the poets and baseball heroes; the shamans and Edgar Cayce; the UFOs and monuments on Mars.

He recalls his mean mother and painfully troubled brother, as well as multiple fathers and a phalanx of counterculture colleagues.

Often it sounds like a transcript from an analyst's couch.

Still, Out of Babylon is a well-written personal story, ultimately sad and disquieting because it rings true.