Mara L. Keire’s history of red-light districts in the United States offers readers a fascinating survey of the business of pleasure from the 1890s through the repeal of Prohibition in 1933. Anti-vice reformers in the late nineteenth century accepted that complete eradication of disreputable pleasure was impossible. Seeking a way to regulate rather than eliminate prostitution, alcohol, drugs, and gambling, urban reformers confined sites of disreputable pleasure to red-light districts in cities throughout the United States. They dismissed the extremes of prohibitory law and instead sought to limit the impact of vice on city life through realistic restrictive measures. Keire’s thoughtful work examines the popular culture that developed within red-light districts, as well as efforts to contain vice in such cities as New Orleans; Hartford, Connecticut; New York City; Macon, Georgia; San Francisco; and El Paso, Texas. Keire describes the people and practices in red-light districts, reformers' efforts to limit their impact on city life, and the successful closure of the districts during World War I. Her study extends into Prohibition and discusses the various effects that scattering vice and banning alcohol had on commercial nightlife.

IT'S BEEN A BUSINESS DOING PLEASURE WITH YOU is my autobiography of being a high profile gay escort, from early military upbringing and its clashes with my young gay identity, to tales of leaving home under threat of shotgun. Going out into the world I made my way to find a niche of survival, only to discover soon afterwards that I had something far harder to survive, a virus called HIV. With the lost lives of friends, lovers, and dogs, I met many in my Hollywood movie like life, famous and not so famous. In my pursuit of happiness I often found myself as shaman to many souls, some lost. Sometimes sex was the last thing required, instead many needed to be held or touched, and to be reassured of their humanity. This was not lost to me, I embraced it, as kindness was healing. Rounding out my years in the oldest profession are some bits of wisdom, folly, and finally closure with my father after years of distance with his gay son.

The Ming dynasty was the last great Chinese dynasty before the Manchu conquest in 1644. During that time, China, not Europe, was the center of the world: the European voyages of exploration were searching not just for new lands but also for new trade routes to the Far East. In this book, Timothy Brook eloquently narrates the changing landscape of life over the three centuries of the Ming (1368-1644), when China was transformed from a closely administered agrarian realm into a place of commercial profits and intense competition for status. The Confusions of Pleasure marks a significant departure from the conventional ways in which Chinese history has been written. Rather than recounting the Ming dynasty in a series of political events and philosophical achievements, it narrates this longue durée in terms of the habits and strains of everyday life. Peppered with stories of real people and their negotiations of a rapidly changing world, this book provides a new way of seeing the Ming dynasty that not only contributes to the scholarly understanding of the period but also provides an entertaining and accessible introduction to Chinese history for anyone.

She’s sweet as sin...and he’s twice as wicked! Bombshell burlesque performer Kaylee Whitfield has perfected the art of the tease, especially when deliciously gorgeous Aidan Beckett is watching. Of course, Aidan has no idea that she’s his ex-bestie’s little sister or that he broke Kaylee’s teenaged heart. It was supposed to be one sexy – and secret – tryst. But Kaylee has a few things to learn about searingly hot temptation...and risking her heart.

In the 1970s a group of pioneering feminist entrepreneurs launched a movement that ultimately changed the way sex was talked about, had, and enjoyed. Boldly reimagining who sex shops were for and the kinds of spaces they could be, these entrepreneurs opened sex-toy stores like Eve’s Garden, Good Vibrations, and Babeland not just as commercial enterprises, but to provide educational and community resources as well. In Vibrator Nation Lynn Comella tells the fascinating history of how these stores raised sexual consciousness, redefined the adult industry, and changed women's lives. Comella describes a world where sex-positive retailers double as social activists, where products are framed as tools of liberation, and where consumers are willing to pay for the promise of better living—one conversation, vibrator, and orgasm at a time.

Alec: I'm in my thirties and life is...well not boring, but uneventful despite being CEO of the family company. Just how I like it. Then I meet Lumen, a woman who challenges everything in such an irresistible way. For once in my life I can see myself in a relationship. There's one problem though, she's off limits. Lumen: Growing up in foster care wasn't the nightmare for me as it was for some, but life hasn't been easy. I work hard, focus on my goals, and I never let things distract me, specifically men and relationships. Until one rainy Seattle night when a gorgeous hunk walks into the spa where I work.When billionaire Alec McCrae mistakes Lumen Browne's workplace for a "happy ending" massage parlor, things get more complicated than he prefers. Especially when their lives become entwined in ways never imagined. Don't miss Off Limits, the first book in The Scottish Billionaire, M. S. Parker's latest romance series.

From bestselling author JC Harroway comes the first book in The Pleasure Pact series. Grace Metcalf only wanted a onetime fling…but he’s got her risking it all for more! After my sister died, I knew I owed it to her and myself to get out there and start living. First order—calling off my wedding to a man I didn’t love. Then a margarita-filled night led to an agreement with my best friends: The Pleasure Pact. We’ve all agreed to live in the moment, which means behaving badly, embracing passion and saying yes to every adventure…even a red-hot holiday fling. When I agreed to go honeymooning solo in sunny Fiji, I didn’t expect to find a gorgeous paddleboard instructor ready and waiting to take my mind off the mundanity of real life. The mysterious Ryan Dempsey is exactly what I need: no rings, no romance, just raw sex appeal. His enigmatic past has turned him off love—now he’s all about lust and spontaneity. Ryan might be set on keeping things casual, but each electrifying encounter with him only shows me that our scorching chemistry goes beyond the physical. Can I convince this sworn bachelor that risking our tropical affair for a deeper connection is worth it? Harlequin DARE publishes sexy romances featuring powerful alpha heroes and bold, fearless heroines exploring their deepest fantasies. Four new Harlequin DARE titles are available each month, wherever ebooks are sold!

The authoritative guide to the etiquette of taking tea for business or pleasure.

In the boardroom or the bedroom... She gets what she wants!

The male sex industry receives far less attention from social scientists than its female counterpart. Male Sex Work: A Business Doing Pleasure fills this gap in the literature, providing a multifaceted and nonjudgmental examination of the entire male sex industry.