BOOK: Real-Life Madam Offers Behind the Scenes Look at Sex for Money in the 21st Century

THE EDUCATION OF A VERY YOUNG MADAM is a memoir of a madam that explores how the internet took prostitution off the street corner and into every suburban home in America.    Real-Life Madam Offers Behind the Scenes Look at Sex for Money in the 21st Century THE EDUCATION OF A VERY YOUNG MADAM By Ma-Ling Lee         "A businesslike, astute and self-empowering look at the sex business…[Lee] presents her career in remarkably transparent, direct terms." – Publishers Weekly     In 2004 the New York Times ran an article called "Call Girls, Updated" about technology and the sex industry.  "There are no official gauges of the sex industry, but if the Manhattan Yellow Pages is any guide, it is thriving, with more than 30 pages under the heading 'escorts.' (By comparison, there are fewer than half as many pages devoted to psychologists, plumbers or real estate brokers.)" The article went on to describe a specific agency based out of New Jersey. THE EDUCATION OF A VERY YOUNG MADAM (Scribner, January 2009, $24.00) is the story of the woman behind this very same agency.   Born in Korea in the mid-1970s and adopted at the age of six by an American family, Ma-Ling (a pseudonym) began running away from home at the age of 13.  At 15, she was dancing at a strip club. "Taken in" by a nefarious cast of characters, Ma-Ling received the bulk of her education from pimps, prostitutes, strippers, and drug dealers, learning basic life skills like cooking and paying bills as well as how to negotiate the streets. With a natural knack for marketing and managing a business, Ma-Ling opened her first brothel at 16. After the police shut her down, Ma-Ling knew it was time to take advantage of the opportunities afforded by the anonymity of the Internet; she purchased her first e-mail list and set up an off-shore server, building a huge, previously untapped clientele in a matter of weeks. The first prostitution book with a business angle, THE EDUCATION OF A VERY YOUNG MADAM reveals how the Internet, cell phones, and other emerging technology have not only revolutionized the sex industry, but have regulated business—ensuring quality, safety and efficiency: "If a new girl wants to work for me, she can e-mail me pictures and I can check reviews of her past work online. No one ever needs to know what I look like or even where I am in order to do business with me…I could be living and working right next door to you and you wouldn't even know it." The Internet has taken the sex industry off the streets and brought it to every computer, den, and office in America.   Additionally, THE EDUCATION OF A VERY YOUNG MADAM offers answers to age-old questions about men and prostitution. "People outside the industry ask me questions…all the time—why do guys take such stupid risks?—especially if the…guys in question are married. The truth is, if these guys wanted to f**k the same girl time and time again, they'd just get mistresses…the point for many of them is that they just want to be around someone who isn't going to judge them for a little while…sometimes they just want something uncomplicated, where the outcome is practically assured." Or how about the question of what sort of man patronizes an escort agency? "Most of them are hardworking professionals like doctors (the most common, at least for Ma-Ling)…lawyers, executives…They all have cash to spare and things to lose." And – of course – the freaky types: "There was this one guy…who never wanted to have sex. He just wanted someone to treat him like a baby…He'd bring along a bottle, pacifier, and adult-size diapers, and the girl was supposed to feed, burp, and change him. Whatever."   Complete with an appendix titled "So You Want to Be a Call Girl?", which includes Ma-Ling's employee handbook and glossary (what exactly is a "Half and Half"?), THE EDUCATION OF A VERY YOUNG MADAM is a newsworthy, tell-all memoir of an extremely savvy businesswoman and a booming business (that shows no sign of slowing).   ABOUT THE AUTHOR Ma-Ling Lee is from Korea and was adopted at birth by a family in Maine. She ran away from home at 13 and quickly became a stripper, befriending the other strippers who taught her basic life skills. Soon after, she met her first boyfriend, a "hustler," who was into drugs. At the age of 17, having discovered she had a knack for marketing and managing a business, she started a brothel. When the police finally shut it down, she bought her first internet mailing list, set up an off-shore server, and reached a huge, previously untapped clientele. The rest is history.     THE EDUCATION OF A VERY YOUNG MADAM By Ma-Ling Lee with Christa Bourg Scribner; January 6, 2009 224 pages; $24.00       ABOUT SIMON & SCHUSTER Simon & Schuster, a part of the CBS Corporation, is a global leader in the field of general interest publishing, dedicated to providing the best in fiction and nonfiction for consumers of all ages, across all printed, electronic, and audio formats. Its divisions include Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing, Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing, Simon & Schuster Audio, Simon & Schuster Online, and international companies in Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit our website at www.simonsays.com