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randywgravitz's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
4.5
bookbeetle's review
dark
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.75
This book provided an excellent deep dive into the life of a Madam and what kind of life it was, and it gave me a better understanding of how life choices can be tough to back out of sometimes. Adler was an engaging personality, and she had met a few fascinating personalities, too. The book goes into a whole lot about the era and the characters involved in Polly’s life, which I appreciated
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Drug use, Alcohol, Murder, and Drug abuse
henrismum's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
3.25
Take away: A sympathetic view of the life of a madam. The book was respectful and left out nearly all sexual details. Polly was an interesting woman who had an interesting life. It was probably a good life, outside of the organized crime goons in the 1930s.
The author documented her sources very well. About 65% of the book was the story and the rest was sources cited.
It was difficult to read the partwhere Polly is raped by her boss, gets pregnant, has an abortion and her boss blames her.
Basically, all men use women, politicians probably at a higher rate than the average man.
Narration: Erin Bennett - Good.
Normal Speed - Accelerated Speed (At 1.05)
New - Second - Third - Committed
Series - Non Series - Non-Fiction - Author
Listening to this book was a chore.
I'm glad I listened to this book.
I didn't want this book to end.
I could not wait to be done With this book.
Average, but better than anything I've written.
The author documented her sources very well. About 65% of the book was the story and the rest was sources cited.
It was difficult to read the part
Basically, all men use women, politicians probably at a higher rate than the average man.
Narration: Erin Bennett - Good.
I'm glad I listened to this book.
I could not wait to be done With this book.
Average, but better than anything I've written.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Police brutality, Grief, Rape, and Abortion
Minor: Gun violence, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, and Drug abuse
nellbie's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
4.0
Loved this well paced history. I didn’t know much about this era especially from an “underworld” perspective.
sjgrodsky's review against another edition
3.0
First, praise to the author for diving deep into the primary sources and writing professional prose. I am a pretty good copy editor (even when reading for pleasure); I noticed just one small error (see below).
Like many histories, the book goes into too much detail in areas where the writer found copious source material (most especially the clean up campaign of the Seabury Commission) but DOESN’T address areas where the historical record was harder to access.
For example: the author never states the obvious truth about her subject’s profession: that being a madam depends on the exploitation of vulnerable young women. There are hints of just how ugly this was:
—One of her “girls” really was a girl of 14.
—There are a few stories of girls who were heroin addicts.
—There are occasional stories of girls being beaten or otherwise ill treated as customers made their fantasies into reality.
But there’s no indication that any customer request was refused. Nor does the author explain how Polly handled the nitty gritty of the sex game: what did she do when a girl became pregnant? Developed syphilis or another venereal disease? Lost her good looks?
The author doesn’t say, but you know it’s not a pretty story.
The photo of the girl on page 320, though, says volumes. The unnamed girl, a pretty blonde, looks utterly exhausted, utterly defeated, and utterly estranged from her own body. She doesn’t seem to notice that Polly’s hand is resting on the armrest of her own — not Polly’s— deck chair, just a few inches from the blonde’s left breast. Polly is impinging on the girl’s personal space — but the girl is long past caring.
Polly — like El Chapo — would tell you that she was supplying a popular item and that no one had to buy. This is true, though it doesn’t address the exploitation. But I think Polly would say this: It’s a rough world and being a madam was my best — indeed only — path to wealth and success. I wasn’t going to remain a victim.
Point taken, though my judgment doesn’t change.
While speaking of “judgment.” I wish the author had explored Polly’s fraught relationship with her parents a bit more. There is the sad hypocrisy of her family judging her (she wasn’t invited to Passover Seder) but accepting her monetary support.
There is also the inconsistency of her parents flanking her as she graduates from LACC (see photo on page 399). Most of the time, Jewish parents kvell with pride at a graduation. Yet I see ambiguity in this photo. They aren’t smiling and they aren’t touching their daughter. You can almost see the dueling thoughts in their heads. Yes, she’s a college graduate. Praise to her, she got what she always wanted, what we could not give her. But do we forget what she was, what she did? America gonif!
Relevant point that the author, incomprehensibly, leaves out: Polly was not a college graduate. LACC grants AA degrees, but not bachelor’s degrees.
(BTW, her dad, Moishe, looks just like my Zaide, Isaac Stern — a gaunt, sunken-cheeked man in baggy pants held up by a belt.)
Despite my questioning and judging, you can, in the end, only be happy that the 13 year old Pearl came to America and gained success, however much she exploited others on her way. Because if she’d stayed in Yanow, she and most of her family would have been burned in an oven. She was right: it’s a rough world and you do what you must to survive.
POSSIBLE ERROR:
On page 184 where the author writes that “the average per capita income for a family of four...”
Hmm. Per capita means “per person” so it doesn’t make sense when used with a family. I think she meant “yearly” (or perhaps monthly) but that’s not what she wrote.
Like many histories, the book goes into too much detail in areas where the writer found copious source material (most especially the clean up campaign of the Seabury Commission) but DOESN’T address areas where the historical record was harder to access.
For example: the author never states the obvious truth about her subject’s profession: that being a madam depends on the exploitation of vulnerable young women. There are hints of just how ugly this was:
—One of her “girls” really was a girl of 14.
—There are a few stories of girls who were heroin addicts.
—There are occasional stories of girls being beaten or otherwise ill treated as customers made their fantasies into reality.
But there’s no indication that any customer request was refused. Nor does the author explain how Polly handled the nitty gritty of the sex game: what did she do when a girl became pregnant? Developed syphilis or another venereal disease? Lost her good looks?
The author doesn’t say, but you know it’s not a pretty story.
The photo of the girl on page 320, though, says volumes. The unnamed girl, a pretty blonde, looks utterly exhausted, utterly defeated, and utterly estranged from her own body. She doesn’t seem to notice that Polly’s hand is resting on the armrest of her own — not Polly’s— deck chair, just a few inches from the blonde’s left breast. Polly is impinging on the girl’s personal space — but the girl is long past caring.
Polly — like El Chapo — would tell you that she was supplying a popular item and that no one had to buy. This is true, though it doesn’t address the exploitation. But I think Polly would say this: It’s a rough world and being a madam was my best — indeed only — path to wealth and success. I wasn’t going to remain a victim.
Point taken, though my judgment doesn’t change.
While speaking of “judgment.” I wish the author had explored Polly’s fraught relationship with her parents a bit more. There is the sad hypocrisy of her family judging her (she wasn’t invited to Passover Seder) but accepting her monetary support.
There is also the inconsistency of her parents flanking her as she graduates from LACC (see photo on page 399). Most of the time, Jewish parents kvell with pride at a graduation. Yet I see ambiguity in this photo. They aren’t smiling and they aren’t touching their daughter. You can almost see the dueling thoughts in their heads. Yes, she’s a college graduate. Praise to her, she got what she always wanted, what we could not give her. But do we forget what she was, what she did? America gonif!
Relevant point that the author, incomprehensibly, leaves out: Polly was not a college graduate. LACC grants AA degrees, but not bachelor’s degrees.
(BTW, her dad, Moishe, looks just like my Zaide, Isaac Stern — a gaunt, sunken-cheeked man in baggy pants held up by a belt.)
Despite my questioning and judging, you can, in the end, only be happy that the 13 year old Pearl came to America and gained success, however much she exploited others on her way. Because if she’d stayed in Yanow, she and most of her family would have been burned in an oven. She was right: it’s a rough world and you do what you must to survive.
POSSIBLE ERROR:
On page 184 where the author writes that “the average per capita income for a family of four...”
Hmm. Per capita means “per person” so it doesn’t make sense when used with a family. I think she meant “yearly” (or perhaps monthly) but that’s not what she wrote.
bkdrgn303's review against another edition
4.0
Fascinating look at American history of the early 20th century.
tiffanie39e8e's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
informative
medium-paced
3.5