Skin City: Uncovering the Las Vegas Sex Industry

Rating:
Summary: Movie or Reality Show
Review: I loved the book and found that it showed the "other side" of Las Vegas that I "Joe Average" tourist never gets to see and never quite understood--it is nice to be able to put actual faces with the characters you only hear about...I have read several of Sheehan's books and the humor is once again captivating...This book would be great material for a movie or a TV reality show....

Rating:
Summary: The Vegas sex industry is probed through latex lenses
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Having been a visitor to sin city since the fifties I've always found fascination in the growth of the sex trade. Each of the eleven chapters details a different aspect of the industry, from porn, outcall, madams, strippers, swingers, male prostitution, and the police. the stories are written in more of a journalistic vein which gives the author more lattitude for exposition however I had hoped for a section(s) on the history and evolution of the sex industry in Southern Nevada. Most of the information is just an elaborated confirmation of what you can gather in a day in Vegas from the sex litertature you can get from the postcards and sex magazines given away freely on the streets. But several chapters ie. "The Oscars of Porn" and the chapter about "Mate Swapping" did explain areas of sexual interest that only a guide could explain without first hand knowledge. One thing that was clearly a revelation to me was the enormity of the industry and how it extends into all aspects of life, and not only in Las Vegas.

The book reads easily and is enormously entertaining. It certainly takes a sympathetic view of the participantants and shows the industry from their side. I applaud Jack Sheehan's openness to withhold judgement. I also appreciated the time spent to allow the sex workers to explain how the made the psychological jump (excuse the pun) from a lay person to a service provider. Anyone who has ever wondered how the collective mind of the sex industry works will find an honest an open explanation that should lighten up even the most callous of conservatives.

Rating:
Summary: Seriously Flawed, Glib, Boring, Shallow
Review: Most of this book seems to focus on the "adult" video industry, with a hefty portion of wife swapping thrown in. The former is pretty much a LA industry, and the latter is more of a realm for perverted hobbyists than part of the Las Vegas sex business. The book cruises along for quite a while before getting to the meat and potatoes of prostitution and "gentlemen's clubs" in Vegas. Those parts of the book at least have some interest, but the author wastes too much paper, ink and readers' time on the personal history of each and every stripper, hooker, and wannabe that he interviews. It seems that there is much to be written about the BUSINESS of sex in Vegas, and even more about how that business is carried out, and by whom. Sadly, this is not the book for that.

Rating:
Summary: Couldn't put it down
Review: The first chapter, in which Sheehan describes his visit to the "Oscars of Porn" is the one that stood out for me. He plays the role of "Everyman" as he becomes our peephole into a world we've all been curious about but have never seen. His humor is infectious - I kept laughing out loud as I read about the people who call porn their career. Some of it is so outrageous - you just have to laugh.

Everything in this book is just fascinating - I couldn't put it down. I highly recommend it - though given the cover - maybe read it in the privacy of your own home.

Excellent!

Rating:
Summary: Movie or Reality Show
Review: The first chapter, in which Sheehan describes his visit to the "Oscars of Porn" is the one that stood out for me. He plays the role of "Everyman" as he becomes our peephole into a world we've all been curious about but have never seen. His humor is infectious - I kept laughing out loud as I read about the people who call porn their career. Some of it is so outrageous - you just have to laugh.

Everything in this book is just fascinating - I couldn't put it down. I highly recommend it - though given the cover - maybe read it in the privacy of your own home.

Excellent!