Obscene Profits: The Entrepreneurs of Pornography in the Cyber Age

by Frederick S. Lane

Sex sells. Already a ten-billion dollar business-and growing-most sex businesses require relatively low start-up costs and minimal equipment. No wonder retired porn stars, homemakers, college students, and entrepreneurs of every stripe are eager to jump on the smut band wagon. Following the money trail, or in this case, the telecom routes, the author reveals how some big phone companies are cashing in too. Obscene Profits offers a startling and entertaining new look at this very old business, and shows why pornography, in all of its variations--videos, magazines, phone-sex, spy cameras, etc.-- is one of the most profitable and popular new careers to come out of the electronic age.

Genres: Nonfiction, Pornography

336 pages, Paperback

First published December 13, 1999

About the author

Frederick S. Lane is an author, attorney, expert witness, and lecturer who has appeared on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart," CNN, NBC, ABC, CBS, the BBC, and MSNBC. After graduating from Amherst College and Boston College Law School, Lane clerked for two years for the Honorable Frank H. Freedman, Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts. After practicing law for five years and writing his first book, Vermont Jury Instructions -- Civil and Criminal (with John Dinse and Ritchie Berger), Lane launched a computer consulting business that in time led to his current work as a computer forensics expert and author.

Reviews

[Ietrio]

The shallow text of a shallow mind. Somehow there is money in the trees, so never mind the stigma, or the taxes, just look at some dubious estimates of what somebody might be worth.

[Chris Dobell]

Did you know that AT&T was at one time the largest adult entertainment company in the world? Crazy, huh, but think of phone sex revenues. I wouldn't have read this book except that the software company I worked for became somewhat involved in the industry (nasdaq companies mind you, not any bottom-feeders). It was an interesting read though in terms of the history of the industry and the various technologies and companies that utilized the industry. I'm not involved with the industry any more - several of my co-workers left because of our involvement.

['stina]

bought at Myopic Books in Chicago in fall 2005)