A sometimes startling, sometimes disturbing documentary of the history of one of mankind's most fascinating sciences - teratology - and its dubious cultural correlative, the freak show, from ancient times to the present day. The book features over 200 rare and intriguing photos of human anomalies and covers the areas of scientific research, sideshows, cinema and body modification. By tracing the history of teratology and looking at some famous case histories such as the Elephant Man and Johnny Eck, Freak Babylon shows how medicine and exploitation are often interlinked.