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Published shortly after his death, this is a collection of essays on John Preston, the author of Mr. Benson and numerous other erotic works. It also includes a number of personal reminiscences by and interviews with people who knew Preston. There is even some short fiction. Contributors include Michael Bronski, Pat Califia, Samuel R. Delaney, and Larry Townsend. It is a touching tribute to the premier writer of gay bdsm fiction whose work influenced virtually every important erotic writer. 

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This is the unauthorized biography of Bettie Page, and she is supposedly quite upset about it. It exposes the sadder parts of Page's life, parts that she would rather have kept secret. It contains very few photographs compared to the other books on her, and they are poorly organized. Foster has done an excellent job of tracing Page's career once she gave up her career as a pin-up. Unfortunately, it's not what her fans are going to want to hear. Foster portrays Page as a victim who was used and abused by a host of promoters and later lawyers. During her missing years she worked at a variety of low-paying jobs. In 1979 she was diagnosed as schizophrenic and institutionalized after trying to stab several people. Despite the frequently unflattering portrayal, Foster is a true fan of Page. He was the first journalist to find her, and was important in encouraging her to resurface 35 years after her mysterious disappearance. 

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This the autobiography of professional dominatrix Mistress Jacqueline as told to Catherine Tavel and Robert Rimmer (of Harrad Experiment and the X-Rated Video Tape Guides fame). It is the second of Tavel and Rimmer's efforts at sexual biography. Their first was Raw Talent on porn star Jerry Butler which is a much better book. Whips and Kisses is poorly written and judgmental. Mistress Jacqueline is an embodiment of all that is wrong with her profession. She suffers a variety of abuse at the hands of men while looking for her perfect Master. She never finds him. Instead she decides to become a pro dom. The implication is that she's out for revenge. If you spend money on pro doms, hopefully you're more discriminating than her clients. The erotic content is minimal. Few of the scenes are particularly interesting, nor does she anything enlightening to say about her profession. 

This book purports to be the experiences of a New York bdsmer. It spans the years from just before the creation of organized bdsm groups such as TES through the pre-AIDS years of the New York club and party scene. Some of the scenes the author describes are interesting and there are erotic moments, but many people will be offended by how unsafe the techniques he describes are. I have a hard time believing that some of his partner's wrists ever recovered from his crude efforts at suspension, but then I see this book more as fiction than an actual recounting of real events. More disturbing to me is that virtually every submissive he plays with turns out to have deep psychological problems and strong suicidal tendencies. Sir John's disdain toward most of his partners is blatant and this attitude overrides the few touching, romantic moments in the book. This book does have its champions (mostly due to a few hot scenes), but I am not one of them. 
 

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This is the autobiography of a well-known Southern California professional dominatrix. Unlike many in her profession, who was reasonably active in the organized bdsm community. Her career goes back to the 1950's, which makes this book interesting from an historical perspective. She discusses what it was like to grow up kinky back then and the problems she faced coming to terms with her desires. As usual for this type of book, Nan spends most of her time describing her various sexual adventures and customers (which include both men and women). The scenes are well described and erotic. This is one of the better pro dom memoirs. 
 

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This is a collection of Preston's later works packaged around the title essay. Preston actually presented this autobiographic essay as a lecture at Harvard University in 1993. The book also includes a 1992 interview with Preston on the state of pornography and more than a dozen essays by Preston that address various issues on writing pornography. Preston talks about how to write pornography, why he writes it, what inspires him, and what you can do to improve pornography. His "Modest Proposal for the Support of the Pornographic Arts" has yet to be acted upon,but we can always hope someone will take up the cause. 

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Ramsland, a philosophy professor at Rutgers University, examines Rice's work from the dual perspective of psychology and philosophy. The research is excellent. Rice and many members of her family including her father and her husband, the award-winning poet Stan Rice were interviewed extensively and repeatedly for it. It is a fascinating exploration of the influences on Rice's writing. This recent update includes material on Lasher and the filming of Interview with the Vampire. 

For bdsmers, the most interesting parts are Ramsland's analysis of how the Beauty Books and Rice's other erotic works fit into the rest of what she's written. Rice has never shown any embarrassment over these books and considers them an important part of her development as a writer, especially her last one, Belinda. Despite having written four bdsm novels, Rice actually had little contact with and few friends inside the bdsm community. One of the few exceptions was John Preston with whom she maintained a long and close friendship. The two had considered collaborated on an erotic novel, but it didn't work out. If you're an Anne Rice fan, this is a must read. 

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This is another pro dom autobiography. Shellogg describes her career as Mistress Sonya, a New York professional dominatrix. She covers the usual background of how she became interested in professional dominance, the joys of her profession, and describes a number of her more interesting scenes. Shellogg also drops the usual hints about the famous men who paid her $300 per hour fees. She is a better writer than most of her compatriots. Her style is clear and her stories often humorous. The picture she paints of her profession is also warmer and much more sympathetic than that offered by many of her coworkers.