The Las Vegas Madam: The Escorts, The Clients, The Truth

I've been researching escorts and prostitution, both the high end and the lowest saddest end (slavery) for a work of fiction I'm writing. I've interviewed real life escorts and sex workers, but when it comes to books - most are trash. You just really don't get honesty. They're either absurd glamorization's of the industry or in the other direction - some sort of pseudo-feminist sermon against the evils of the industry. This book comes as close to the feelings and observations the escorts I've talked to out in the real world as any other book I've read. I'm sure she brushed up the stories a bit to give them more impact and drama, but overall I feel that Jami's book is the most honest and well written work of the bunch. The way this book describes people matches up to the way people I've observed tend to actually behave out here in the real world. There are times in this book where I became physically nauseated by her descriptions. I'm thinking "how did she escape this industry without contracting HIV and a dozen other other ailments." Well, maybe she didn't. There's a lot of room for thought between the sordid details, and I commend her for putting herself out there like this. When I was younger and more self-righteous I would have dismissed a book like this and the sort of people who work in this industry as getting what they deserve. I would have gone on a tirade about how "they need to eliminate this crap from society entirely." But now I'm not so sure. I see things differently. I know actual people in this industry, and I've found them to be worthy friends. Would I ever hire an escort? Absolutely not.. but I know that other people will. They always will, so why not make sex workers much safer, and give them the ability to be in control of their own destiny? Why should they go through all this crap and give 70% of what they earn to a damned pimp? That's the thing I'm most outraged about now. We say that we want women to make decisions about their own body... well, if we truly mean that, then if they want to sell it... why should they not get the full benefit from that? Anyway, I digress. This book not only told a good story, it got me thinking deep thoughts. Not only have I come to the point where I no longer judge people like Jami, I've been through enough in life to find things about her to really admire. Yes, she's an admirable person, IMO. She sounds like a person you'd want to listen to. Now, the next can of worms I'm only opening because religion is a big part of this book. It's in her upbringing, and it always remains a thread through her life, which reminds me of the days when I was a bit on the religious side. One thing I always remembered from my church days was a minister once telling me that one of the greatest heroes of the Bible was a prostitute named Rahab. He pointed out that too many people in churches don't get the big picture. He then went on to point out that Esther was basically prostituting herself as well -- for what is being a high end concubine and dancing and seducing a King, if not "high end sex work"? She's getting it on with a powerful man she doesn't love to get herself and her family (or her people) a leg up on things. She's selling her body to the King for a benefit. That's prostitution, and it's "according to God's Will" - if you believe that sort of thing. Makes you see things even from a religious point of view - as a bit more "gray". Anyway, if I ever find a book about this industry as thought provoking and well written as this one, I'll truly be thrilled. The only thing so far that has come close is a fictional book called "Sold", which is a heart breaking story about sex trafficking in India and Nepal. I'll give this one 5 stars. Kudo's to the author for telling her story.

This book really held my attention, it really gives insight to the life of a escort. This chronicles the life of the author and her descent into the seedy world of turning tricks and then working her way up the chain to an escort. She describes in detail all of the humiliating things she did to make a quick buck, and how she learned that by being a high end escort she could make more money, but always feeling lonely and wondering what else she could be doing with her life. She escalates into being a madam, she makes a great deal of money and realizes that she needs a break from all this stuff going on in her head. She finds a boyfriend she falls in love with, but he ultimately ends up dumping her when he finds out how she makes her money, meanwhile they were traveling and she was paying for everything, he still could not deal with her lifestyle. She ends up giving it up when she knows she's about to get caught, which she does in the end, I believe she would probably still be involved in this if it was not for that, or maybe the fact she was getting older, and you can't be a call girl when you are getting close to 40!

The high-end of the world’s oldest profession has re-invented itself: the internet is the new brothel. This book is about what it means to be an independent high-end escort in the age of the internet. As both an escort and a madam, Haley/Jami has experienced it all; she provides a very clear account of the good, the bad, and the ugly. Five stars for a superb piece of sociological work. This book, however, does not get five stars for great sex. Jami may be a good sociologist and escort but she is not your sexually-empowered woman. The sex scenes she paints are flat and devoid of sensuality: they will, mostly, appeal to males with juvenile-like sexual fantasies. There is almost no female pleasure in Jami’s sex scenes. Why? Unlike her Olympian protege Suzy Hamilton, Jami wasn’t into escorting for the sex; it was just a job for her. Strangely, one of her self-imposed rules was to not allow herself to orgasm with her customers. So there were no orgasms for Jami during her ten years of sex work in Las Vegas. Of course, Jami is a pro when it comes to pleasuring her male customers, but it does take a huge toll on her life: the constant giving eventually resulted in a serious drug addiction. Yes, she resorted to drugs to get her through her four daily sessions of one-sided pleasure giving. As she writes, “I knew ‘Haley' would provide the best sexual experience any man had encountered in a long time…She could party and work all night. She took another drink, another pill, and kept going. Any trace of anxiety was gone, thanks to the drugs and alcohol, and i felt pretty damned good…” Unfortunately, it got worse. She writes, "It got to a point where I couldn’t remember a single night in the last six months when I hadn’t blacked out. I dropped ecstasy several times a day…and drank from night till morning.” So why did Jami not embrace the hedonistic lifestyle in its entirety and allow herself to savor some sexual pleasure from her escorting work? Maybe, she had a left-over puritanical streak that made her unable to accept sex as a healing, positive, life-energy force. She writes, “Part of me wanted to let go of my familiar provider role and experience the sexual feelings that burned inside. The other part hesitated to enjoy the moment. That had been one of my rules, but I wasn’t exactly sure why I had that rule anyway. I didn’t have a boyfriend at home I was saving myself for.” Later she writes about her clients, "I don’t love them. I don’t have orgasms. I’m just having sex. It’s strictly a business transaction with lots of perks…. I show up for an hour, have sex, and leave. It’s just work… There’s a difference between seeing someone for pleasure and for work…” Of course, untangling sex from emotions and orgasms is not that simple. So Jami spends most of her book trying to find love from within the confines of the world’s oldest profession, Las Vegas style. In the process, she produced a great book. Maybe, an easier approach would be to lift the prohibition on escorting encounters between consenting adults.

While it wasn't the most well-written book I've read, it was very interesting and saucy and honest. Great book club pick!

I'm so glad that Jami shared her story with us. This was an easy read as in, I didn't want to put it down! She took me right in from the start and to be honest there are many steamy passages that I found completely enticing! This woman knows sex sells lol I appreciate her honesty and openness and I'm very happy for her that she has found herself and she is happy and at peace. It sounds to me that she was invested in these people and trying to help them. And actually was helping them! If people weren't using her they would be using someone else. It is what it is. At least she had scruples, which is pretty hard in that particular industry. Honesty is hard to come by in general unfortunately. She also made me care about some of the women she talked about. Great book. I loved it!

This book is a page turner! I had an interest in Haley's story but I really did not expect to enjoy reading the book that much; for me it was more curiosity about a girl that I never forgot. However, Jami's book is a winner. She is shockingly honest in describing her experiences starting as a young, curious girl searching for independence from her small town and conservative family life, to an unabashed escort in Vegas willing to experiment with just about anything--or maybe everything--in search of freedom, love, and her true self. This is a well written, absorbing and candid recount of Jami's story and the behind the scenes life styles in sin city. I can't wait to read Jami's next book; she is a great writer and a deep observer of the human condition.

Nicely written candid story of a young lady, Jami Rodman following her passion for sex starting out from the entry level of the business working her way to the top of the “sin trade” in Las Vegas. Learning from experiences along the way, she built what became known as best high class business in the industry. She not only had her heart in the business she had a caring heart for the women she managed and worked with as well as for many of the clients she served. Despite the ups and downs she never lost sight of her goal and always had a “can-do” attitude. Sadly, she sacrificed establishing “personal loving relationships “ to focus on business and money. I admire Ms Rodman for her tenacity in following her passion to achieve her goal, and the way she handled adversity when her business was threatened and ultimately dissolved. Very good read!

Full Disclosure: I've read the book, but I've never dealt with an escort service. However, the feel of this book is that the author is telling the truth, laying it all out as it were. The entire range of prostitution is covered from the streetwalkers to the top echelon courtesans who are paid in multi-thousands of dollars and flown around the world to meet the uber-wealthy clients. It covers the independent contractors and the girls working for pimps and explains how the businesses are conducted, both the sleazy, even dangerous arrangements as well as the high scale end. The enjoyable clients are described as well as those that make one nauseous. It convinces me I've been right to avoid the whole business, but it is an entertaining book. Anybody traveling to Las Vegas might find it interesting. It fulfills its purpose and does it well.

More like Penthouse letters versus a book. Was hoping for some type of story