I have a number of books on this subject, I guess going back to his first one. This one seems to me to lay out a way to give a pretty good basic massage, which is worth learning to do on a willing partner. It's a massage, so not foreplay. Give them water afterward and let them relax. I know I got one of my best blood pressure readings after a massage the day before by a very experienced and well trained deep tissue massage therapist. Sensual massage is rather different from being covered by a sheet in a professional setting. It involves nudity and so do the illustrations, which are well photographed. I know artistic anatomy and add in some basic massage techniques and pretty soon it all comes together. Somewhere on youtube a community college put up a good instructional course on legit massage, whereas most the videos on it are junk. I think it is worth learning and taking seriously. At the moment I'm out of practice. Also haven't seen my massage therapist in some time, more's the pity.
I still have an old copy of Gordon Inkeles's classic original, The Art of Sensual Massage, from the 1970s, and remember when the author came to our college and packed an auditorium with students clamoring to hear him speak and show his film. (Maybe more to see his film, nudity and college kids!). This guy made massage a part of North American life, when owning his book showed you were different than your parents generation, less uptight and more caring and considerate of others' desires.
It's nice to see Inkeles update his original classic with this comprehensive revision, full of color photographs and the best techniques.