Soiled Doves by Ann Seagraves (1994)
This book provides a glimpse into a fairly unusual topic: prositution in the "Wild West" of the 1800's. It covers the gamut, from the elite sophisticated brothels with the top-notch "girls," to the hovels near the mining towns and the Chinese slave-girls which catered to men near Chinatown of San Francisco. It is chock-full of photographs, excerpts from old newspaper articles and other interesting side-bars. This is not a dense, academic study, but an easy-to-read overview. At times it is a tad disorganized, but it is such a quick read that this does not detract much. The only criticism that I have is that the writer waffles between glamorizing the life of some of the "luckier" prostitutes, and asserting that they most led lives that ended with suicide.
Made In USA
Made In USA