And yet the book emits an undeniable magnetism. The language is appropriately blue. The words fuck, dick, and cunt make frequent appearances. And interspersed between chapters are interviews with the porno industry elite. The glee with which Babylon Blue tackles its subject is infectious.
Porn emerges as a fully-formed genre as complex as the Western and film noir.
Babylon Blue will work best for those unfamiliar with adult films. Its chronological retelling is easy to follow and makes few demands on readers who want to learn about the genre without plunging into its darkest bowels. We learn about Deep Throat whose 1972 release proved that porn could be titillating and respectable. Deep Throat ushered in a string of arthouse porn adult movies with high production values aimed at the couples audience. Among them were The Devil in Miss Jones , The Resurrection of Eve and Through the Looking Glass .