Porn Row

Although written by an anthropologist, this book offers a popularized view of the sex-for-sale district of a major American city. Weatherford worked as a clerk in a pornography store in Washington, D.C. in order to learn about the "business" of sex. He gives a personal account of his experience, interspersed with accounts of the sexual behavior of primates and numerous tribal societies. His description of the goings-on in the "porn strip" is explicit and graphic. After comparing these activities with behavior in various non-Western societies he draws some weak and largely unsubstantiated conclusions. Of value are the author's insights on the effect of AIDS on sex-for-sale and a chapter on homosexuals as a new servant class. Sensationalist with some redeeming social value. Robin B. Devin, Univ. of Rhode Island Lib., Kingston.