To be honest, I bought this book more because it was in a bargain bin for $5 than because it looked interesting. Although I don't go out much, I've never considered myself agoraphobic so much as misanthropic. Nevertheless, there was something intriguing about the idea of a memoir/professional discussion of phobias.
By telling aspects of his life through the lens of phobia, Allen Shawn engages in what is probably the most interesting part of the…