Rating: 
Summary: A dozen rose stems
Review: Kinky, but sadly..not very filling. It has some infomation on how to construct random items in bondage, medical info on where to hit and not, medical info on where to not tie a person up, GREAT humor, a FEW good photos..but much else..not too much else. Sadly, for such a beautful and kinky name and cover..it don't quite live up to it all. Still good with the info, GREAT for mewbies..or those curious. Nothing for novice and seasoned players.
Rating: 
Summary: Screw the Roses, Send Me the Thorns
Review: When I was first learning about SM, I was full of the usual stereotypes and misinformation about it. IMHO, to understand and appreciate SM, it is essential for one to realize that SM turns everything on its head. 'Nothing is what it seems', so to speak. Screw the Roses, Send Me the Thorns does that better than any other book I've read on the subject, and it does so with abundant love. After reading a few pages of Molly Devon and Philip Miller's book, my unfounded fears about what SM was began to melt away. The book is written with so much love and playfulness that one cannot help but see and feel it. And once the fear from all those inaccurate myths is dispelled, there is room for the *delicious* fears with which safe, sane, and consensual SM abounds. And the loving playfulness is contagious! For these reasons (in addition to those discussed by other reviewers), I highly recommend this book, *especially* for all novices. It is my very favorite! Read, learn, and enjoy.....yummmmm!!
Rating:
Summary: Great reference manual
Review: This book is basically two parts - the first one on S&M philosophy/background/psychology/etc. Read this part thru from start to finish. The second half is more of a how-to, and covers a wide range of interests. Try out the ones you like...they are fairly self contained, though there are sections that relate and build on each other. Overall, a great book.
Rating:
Summary: Almost perfect!
Review: This book is absolutely delightful. It's informative and humorous. I'd like to give it 4.5 stars, but amazon.com won't let me. Rather than repeat what everyone else has already said about this book's many, many good points, I'll just point out my two teensy little criticisms. First, even though I know the authors explained the whole bit about their having a male dominant/female submissive perspective, I still found that this detracted slightly from my enjoyment of the book. I know writers should write what they know, and I also understand that putting in a whole lot of that "his or her" stuff can make for some very awkward sentence construction. Nevertheless, a hefty portion of the population (myself included) is going to feel a little weird reading, "OK, guys, here's what to do when your submissive lady needs a..." My other criticism, and this is a very minor one, concerns the parodies of the "forgettable characters" on pages 45-47. They're funny, but judgmental. I found the "Very Married, but..." section kind of rankled--maybe it hit a little close to home. The authors should be aware that there are thousands of people out there who are otherwise happily married to vanilla spouses, and are tempted to play outside their marriage, but refrain from doing so on principle. I think that's commendable. I don't think that remaining faithful despite temptation indicates a "lack of courage". Quite the contrary. It's the spineless ones who cheat. The rest of us either convince our spouses to engage in some light play (the lucky ones) or find a harmless outlet, like chatting. People who are fortunate enough to have come to terms with their kinks while they are young and single are just that - fortunate - not superior. Overall, though, I agree with what everyone else is saying - this book is terrific.
Rating:
Summary: Great guide for all BDSM players!
Review: I highly recommend this book for all people who are inerested in learning about BDSM in its many facets. Even if you are an experienced player,this book should be on your shelve as a reference guide. I continually refer back to this book for helpful hints,good ideas and updates. The only thing I did nit like ,which is a personal opinion, was instead of being written from a general point of view, it is definitely written from a male dominant one. I understand authors write from thier own perspective, but I felt for a general guide to BDSM, a view from all gender aspects or a non-gender one may have been better.
Rating:
Summary: Practical, wonderfully insightful and a kick to read
Review: "Screw the Roses..." is the answer to a thousand curiosities the uninitiated might have about the psychology of the world of SM and of its citizens. In addition to the thorough exposition on the mindset of SM people, it offers buckets of practical tips and advice for all, from beginner to experienced player/participant. The humor begins with the title and the disclaimer just inside, and extends all the way to the end, making "Screw the Roses..." probably the most amusing book available on psycho-sexuality. It is written from the authors' perspective of male dominant/female submissive, and though the rationale for doing so is presented respectfully and tastefully, it occasionally takes a bit of mental effort to apply an appropriate transposition. The pages on the basic psychology alone make this a worthy purchase; the coverage of so many other topics (tips & techniques, furnishing your dungeon/playroom, etc.) make this a book not to be missed if you have even the lightest interest in SM.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Introduction into the World of SM
Review: For me this book was wonderful read. It taught me about being many different safety issues and the proper way to do things. It has a chapter on making your own toys and how to save money when furnishing your dungeon. It talks about safety. I highly recommend this book to anyone that wishes to practice sm or just wants to learn about it.
Rating:
Summary: No contest ...best of its class
Review: With 25 five star reviews another is hardly necessary. But this book is everything it should be. its funny, its informative, its approachable and its fun! Easily the best "how to" book on D/s SM ever written. "Screw the roses" covers most topics in SM play: bondage, spanking, humilation, flogging, types of whips, gear, contact groups, medical issues, safety issues, post-scene comforting and mental aspects. It goes into details on all of the less extreme practices. It treats the more extreme things such as breath play or cutting much more briefly, pretty much warning people off them. It is full of practical advice and good safety tips. These are punctuated with amusing and erotic personal anecdotes that help keep the reading fun and light. One of the things I most admire about "Roses" is that safety is practically a mantra repeated through out the book. Overall a must have book.
Rating:
Summary: excellent for beginner's
Review: I was told of this great book by a friend when we were disscussing our interest in bd/sm. He told me of this book and I could not beleive how thorough the book was in explaining all the different technics and proper way of conducting these events! I deffiently recommend this book to anyone who is just starting out in the bd/sm life style!
Rating:
Summary: the BEST introductory book to the scene available!
Review: We all know that scene newbies need safety advice, to learn how to wield a whip, how to hook up with others, all that important stuff. Many, many books accomplish that basic stuff fairly well. But Philip and Molly provide all necessary clues for the clueless in a book much more enjoyable than most, full of cartoons, humor and lots of hot pictures. While you can learn the basics a lot of places, few authors manage to make it such an enjoyable experience. Told from a primairly male dom/female sub perspective, the book remains useful to pansexual perverts of all stripes.
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