Excellent introduction into a subject not only about music, but about the often deadly practice of castrating young boys in the hope that some of them might energe as glorious song birds in the future.

A book I read some years ago, that was very well researched and written without prurience, is Anne Rice's "Cry to Heaven." It is about the castrati, how they were acquired, by whom and why..This book is fictionalized history, but very well done and a captivating read.
A