Drawing from four American collections of photographs, Joel-Peter Witkin has edited a new monograph which reveals "the ability of the photograph to show us our powerlessness in the face of madness, lust, disease and death." Included are 19th century asylum inmate portraits with calligraphic annotations on each patients' diagnosis, turn-of-the-century crime scenes, 19th century medical photographs, and a collection of images from the Kinsey Institute for Sex Research. The collections are introduced by various doctors and curators. Joel-Peter Witkin contributes the introduction.