The Male Escort's Handbook: Your Guide to Getting Rich the Hard Way

Rating:
Summary: A must read for both escorts and clients
Review: Aaron Lawrence has wrote a book that not only is a necessity for those thinking of becoming an escort but a very interesting read for clients as well. If you want to learn how things work from the other side of the fence, this is the book to choose. Insightful and well written, it is a book that you will read in one sitting. If there were a test to becoming an escort, this would be the study guide of choice.

Rating:
Summary: From Inches Magazine
Review: Excerpted from a large review in the May, 2001 issue of Inches.

In his preface to The Male Escort's Handbook (Your Guide to Getting Rich the Hard Way), Aaro Lawrence, escort extraordinaire and former Inches centerfold, writes that, after years of turning tricks, he felt a need to update John Preston's book on teh subject, Hustling. Unlike Preston's classic, Lawrence's thorough how-to book is aimed at a generation that is both entrepreneurial and wired. Preston, an unrepentant member of the Stonewall generation, saw male hustling as one more tool for carrying out the (homo)sexual revolution. Such sentiments don't figure in Lawrence's more-pragmatic approach. The author states at the start that he'll be looking at "escort as a professional endeavor for people who want to make serious money." But Lawrence is neither purely mercenary nor bereft of idealism. Rather, Lawrence's idealism, like that of his generation, extends more to the realm of personal improvement (both to the escort's and his client's) than to the socially utopian.

Once you accept that The Male Escort's Handbook is a primer tooled to the somewhat narrowed ambitions of our times, you can judge the book on its own terms. The verdict? It's hard to see how this excellent book could better fulfill its intentions. Lawrence writes clearly, efficiently, and his self-published book is more meticulously edited than most books that major publishing houses spew out these days. Any guy who's a sex worker or is contemplating becoming one will want to read it. And it's full of information that will be of use to current or potential clients of male escorts, or to anyone with an interest in male prostitution.

Rating:
Summary: Very helpful
Review: I am a new escort myself and found this book very helpful. Aaron covers all the basics of escorting. From the do's and don't, safe [...], managing $$$, etc. If you are thinking about being an escort, are already an escort, or just curious about what it is like....this is a great book for you.

Rating:
Summary: Very helpful
Review: I am a new escort myself and found this book very helpful. Aaron covers all the basics of escorting. From the do's and don't, safe [...], managing $$$, etc. If you are thinking about being an escort, are already an escort, or just curious about what it is like....this is a great book for you.

Rating:
Summary: A must read for both escorts and clients
Review: Lawrence's second book, The Male Escort's Handbook, is as honestly and realistically written as his first book about his own experiences as a callboy. In 21 chapters, yup you read correctly, 21!, he covers everthing from disease, to fees, to agencies, to legal advice, and personally balancing sex for money with sex in your private and personal life. Guess what? Escorting is neither total fun nor total depravity, for Lawrence it is a career. The book is geared toward escorts, and I'd say clients too, who are both male. This isn't a guide for female escorts or males escorts who do female clients but some of the basics could be applied to either group I suspect.

Rating:
Summary: Realistic and Honest
Review: Lawrence's second book, The Male Escort's Handbook, is as honestly and realistically written as his first book about his own experiences as a callboy. In 21 chapters, yup you read correctly, 21!, he covers everthing from disease, to fees, to agencies, to legal advice, and personally balancing sex for money with sex in your private and personal life. Guess what? Escorting is neither total fun nor total depravity, for Lawrence it is a career. The book is geared toward escorts, and I'd say clients too, who are both male. This isn't a guide for female escorts or males escorts who do female clients but some of the basics could be applied to either group I suspect.

Rating:
Summary: X-Factor Book Review
Review: The pun is obvious, but just the same, you have to love it.

Aaron Lawrence is the kind of entrepreneur you're not likely to encounter giving pep talks on a college campuses or at job fairs. He's a male hustler, who also poses for an occasional glossy sexmag photo shoot or appears in a XXX video.

In his first book, "Suburban Hustler: Stories of a Hi-Tech Callboy", he wrote about his experiences as a hustler. Now he tells the rest of the world how he did it, and how they can do it too.

Citing John Preston's 1994 book, "Hustling: A Gentleman's Guide to the Fine Art of Homosexual Prostitution" as his model, Lawrence fills in many of Preston's gaps, especially in the arena of cyberspace. With wit, flair, humor and plenty of solid business sense, Lawrence tells you almost everything you might need, or want, to know about hustling. Whether your interest is one of general curiosity or you're considering plying the trade yourself, "The Male Escort's Handbook" is a font of fascinating information.

Lawrence leaves no stone or trick unturned, his scope encompassing even death and taxes. Whatever your notions or experiences may be regarding male prostitutes, you'll come away with a different perspective. In fact, you may want to pick up the phone and give Lawrence a call. Although he does not discuss authorship as a marketing strategy, this book will almost certainly increase his business.

Appendices discuss online advertising, list international resources for escorts, cite pertinent reading on the subject, and provide a checklist by which escorts may discreetly screen potential clients for STDs.

-- From X-Factor (a Phoenix gay newspaper), December 1, 2000

Rating:
Summary: Excellent guide for the aspiring hustler!
Review: This book provided the inspiration and guidance for a successful part-time hustling career for me. It's a good and thorough how-to guide to becoming an independent male escort, from deciding whether or not you're really cut out for it to advertising, safety issues, pricing, STDs, dealing with clients, legal issues and managing your money in what's often a quasi-legal or simply illegal profession. It maintains a focus on professionalism and good management throughout, which I think is really key to any successful business, including escorting. It's also full of anecdotes that ilustrate the points made, and gives a good picture of the author's own experience in developing and maintaining a successful escort career. A few small disappointments with the book include:

1. Although it includes one chapter on agencies and brothels, it doesn't deal with them in detail Also, it doesn't talk about street hustling at all, probably reflecting the author's class bias. It's definitely targeted at a more upscale, "escort" type sex worker. This was fine for my purposes but might not be useful for others.

2. The internet advertising and cyberhustling information is now somewhat out of date, although the general principles are probably still useful.

3. American focus throughout... as a Canadian boy, this made it less useful for me... though it was still pretty darn useful! We need someone to write "Male Escorting for Canadians for Dummies" :)

Overall, a fun and informative read and a must-read for any guy who's thinking of escorting.