The authors (Dossie Easton and Janet W. Hardy) are really knowledgeable and experienced. They both have queer and heterosexual, bottom and top BDSM experiences, which leads to a well-rounded, accessible book for all. And in terms of accessibility, this is really easy to read. It's not bogged down in big words, and they explain all of their terms, even those that are commonly known BDSM terms, like bottom or top, so that people of all levels of BDSM experience can enjoy this--even just those curious to get a peek into our world. They are not heteronormative at all either, which is fabulous. They alternate between she and he pronouns and don't always place the she as submissive. Although they could be better about their trans* issues, like how they put "ed" on the end of transgender, overall I think they did a good job of not basing this book on social and cultural norms. After all, BDSM is non-normative in so many ways, so why should our discussion of it be?

The authors are truly veterans of BDSM and know what they're doing. They have taught many workshops and classes and their knowledge really shows.

"This book is a celebration of sensational submissives and marvelous masochists, of the naughtiest schoolboys and the sluttiest slaves, of those who love to struggle and serve and scream and submit and come and come and come...of bottoms, submissives, captives, slaves, pets and all the beautiful recipients who ever peopled a kinky imagination...This is an unabashedly bottom-centrist book. In it we will tell you over and over again that bottoms are beautiful, bottoms are powerful, bottoms are alchemists who magically transform suffering into sex, humiliation into desire, screams of pain into moans of pleasure...In this book, we will teach you to be a proud, fierce, redoubtable bottom--a bottom whose power is so profound that it attracts tops like pollen attracts bees. And the honey you and those tops make together will be the sweetest you've ever tasted." -Intro to Chapter 1, Introducing Ourselves, The New Bottoming Book

This is a really great book for bottoms to better understand themselves. It is not an instruction manual on how to be a bottom or how to do BDSM. It did, however, help me feel more empowered in my bottom role with my current partner. Only having dominated before recently, when I first entered the realm of bottoming and subbing I was really thrown off by how much I liked it. Now, as a self-identifying switch, I feel that both dominating and submitting can be totally empowering. This book, though it didn't teach me much I didn't already know, was validating and soothing, and I am sure I subconsciously learned a lot even if it wasn't throwing facts at me. They stress that all fantasies and desires are okay as long as they are carried out in consensual ways and that all parties enjoy playing.

Although this book is designed for bottoms, or subs, I think doms can definitely get something out of this book as well. It helps provide insight into the bottom world. Most of us talk with our partners about why we like bottoming or topping--or at least, my friends and partners and I do--but this gets more into some stuff we may not be able to vocalize, especially for a beginner bottom who may not be sure quite why they like bottoming yet and want to explore themselves. As a more experienced player (definitely not to Easton and Hardy's extent though!), I still got something out of this book, and that was a greater understanding of myself as a bottom, a greater appreciation for my top, and more empowerment through submission than I already experience with my current partner. This book reminds you when you're feeling down that bottoms are powerful and fierce just like our tops.

One problem (of very few) with this book is that the descriptions of the internet are very outdated. This should surprise no one if you've investigated when this book was published. It may be the "new" bottoming book, but it was published in 2001. Yup, information about "the 'Net" and "The World Wide Web" is in this book--and this is seriously how they refer to it. I simply skipped these pages, because I already know what chatrooms and mailing lists are. I think it's easy for people nowadays to figure out that they can just google BDSM and get a head start on finding some books, toys, porn, forums, or whatever they're looking for. The parts about the internet don't take up a significant portion of the book, so it really doesn't matter. I was not disappointed by that, and I knew that it was published 11 years ago before I bought it, so I was not surprised either. It doesn't have some interesting tips about engaging in online BDSM, and how your online desires and persona may not transfer seamlessly into your bed.

As I said before, this is not an instruction manual about specifics of how to do BDSM. They do break down some stuff for you, but you should probably have some understanding of BDSM before you pick up the book. There are some ideas in the book for ways to improve your life as someone into BDSM. Easton and Hardy do provide tips, such as determining safewords before playing with a new partner, not negotiating scenes during the scene itself, how to find a top, how to let tops find you, how to make a list of needs, wants, and limits, what to do when your partner is vanilla, et cetera. You will find these safety tips throughout the book. You will not find instructions on how to flog or tie knots. There is a nice instruction-like chapter that contains information on all types of stuff people do during BDSM, like pain, body modification, costumes, and so forth. They don't give you sex tips, but they do lay out why people like these things and some of the things players do to satisfy desires for them.

This is a regular paperback book with a glossy cover. People into BDSM will recognize "bottoming" as a term, but it's not very obvious. The cover is as pictured. Nothing crazy. In the O there is a person happily handcuffed to a ceiling, but it is small enough that you can barely tell unless you are paying attention. The back is just praise of the book by others. It's a thin book that can easily fit in a bag.

I think that the layout of the book makes sense. I don't have much to say about it. Here are pictures of the table of contents:





A great part of this book is that the last page is a pretty long list of other books to check out by the same publisher. In the end of the book there is also a resource list with other books by all publishers, as well as organizations, a journal name, and a couple websites (though these are probably outdated). Even if there are probably newer books, there isn't much that changes on some of these topics. It can also help you find authors, if nothing else.

I really enjoyed this book. I bought both books for myself and my partner to read and I am very pleased with the purchase. I think of this as a guidebook of sorts. Don't expect to have revelations about yourself, but do expect to learn a few things about yourself, sex, your partner(s), and maybe a couple tips to take to the bed.