Upstairs Girls: Prostitution in the American West Kindle Edition

The book is well-researched, well enough written, and packs a good sampling of anecdotes. It is overall an enjoyable read that opens a window on a little-understood profession in a remote time. Yet the author’s moralistic bias too often creeps through, which I found distracting, even alienating. For a title that presents itself as an historical glimpse rather than a moralistic appraisal, it seemed out of place.To be sure, the author provides sympathetic backstories for many of the women. Yet he betrays his bias with frequent resorts, without irony, to dehumanizing terms the likes of “lady of questionable virtue,” "shady ladies," and “ladies of the evening.” By contrast, non-prostitutes are “decent women.” The author seems something of a house divided: at once judgmental yet morbidly fascinated.For a volume subtitled “Prostitution in the American West,” I found it curious that there were no anecdotes from Salt Lake City. Salt Lake had a robust trade and made no secret of it. As late as the early 20th century, the town’s most prominent madam collaborated with city leaders on the construction of a stockade in the city’s downtown. Sentries were posted at its doors; inside were parlors and cribs.

These are mostly stories you've probably never heard before. I found them fascinating. And there were photos, too, which made it even better. Even if you think you know the stories of prostitutes and the wild west you might find some new information here. I personally found the life story of Madam Moustache (complete with photo -- really, she had a mustache) really great and way too short! Unfortunately a lot of the stories are short simply because either their lives were short or there simply was no written records to reference. But there was enough to make an easily read book. I enjoyed it.

That it was so clearly tolerated even touted is just amazing. After reading tons of books about the West, I wanted to read something about the trade itself, so common that a man like Wyatt Earp could hold down the job of a lawman and run a brothel on the side. Rutter's book is helpful, and I enjoyed the small bios of many of the West's most famous Madams.

Easy and fun, read both this authors books on prostitution in the west. Informative, Chinese sex trade introduced In this book

I like history and this gives a lot of short stories about a few more infamous "soiled doves". There is not a lot of information about most prostitutes in the old West. This was not a job they wanted but often had no choice because of the severe restraints on how they could make enough money just to survive otherwise. Some have fascinating stories.

Excellent book. Love the history and facts. Highly recommend! Great learning experience on how the West was actually won. Locally, I enjoyed the references to the Montana Territory and places where a lot of the ladies drifted through Montana during their careers in the business.

Very interesting and well written.

Interesting read

Starts a bit dry but opens up to tell the story of the real Wild West and the characters who inhabited the towns and camps

Informative and honest and full of great pictures. I bought as part of research for a play and found it full of wonderful stories. Seemed to strike a balance between the negative and positive elements of the lifestyle in the period.