The adult film industry is a $10 billion-per-year business that has infiltrated the American mainstream, with its stars showing up as TV hosts and making guest appearances in Hollywood feature films. But what most people don't know is how the porn industry got started — with a $22,000 Mafia investment in a film called Deep Throat — or how it mushroomed over the next quarter-century despite efforts by politicians, the FBI, and others to bring it down.

The Other Hollywood tells that story, through hundreds of interviews with the people who lived through it. Acclaimed underworld chronicler Legs McNeil pulls back the grimy satin sheets on one of the most astounding success stories in the history of American business. Careening back and forth among three groups — the actresses, directors, and others who made the films; the shady underworld figures who financed them; and the FBI agents who struggled to bring them down — The Other Hollywood offers scores of never-before-told stories, all told in the voices of those who lived in them:

• The true story of Linda Lovelace and husband Chuck Traynor, drawn from the last interviews with them before their recent deaths — including how Lovelace was used first by the porn industry, then by anti-porn activists
• The first male porn star, John Holmes, and the Wonderland Avenue murders he set up
• The demise of Savannah, the ur-porn star of the 1990s, who ended up a coked-out suicide
• The truth about the feud between Ginger Lynn and Traci Lords
• The story of the decades-long fight between the mob and the feds over porn — including the untold story of MIPORN, the very first undercover op in the history of the FBI — featuring appearances by John Gotti, Sammy the Bull, and others
• The rise of the porn studio system with Vivid, Wicked, and others — and of today's megaporn moguls, like Jill Kelly and Jenna Jameson.

Witty, always compelling, and ultimately moving, The Other Hollywood is a Hollywood Babylon for today.

"This compulsively readable book perfectly captures the pop culture zeitgeist. It doesn't hurt that the history of American pornography is inextricably intertwined with all the subjects that captivate us: sex, drugs, beauty, fame, money, the Mafia, law enforcement and violence. McNeil (Please Kill Me) focuses on the industry's dark underbelly: suicide (Savannah), fratricide (the Mitchell brothers), Mafia hits (John Gotti whacked Robert DiBernardo, the mob's point man in the porn business) and gangland slayings (John Holmes). But beyond the scintillating subject, it's McNeil's skillful technique that elevates this oral history, coauthored by journalists Osborne and Pavia, above the tedium of a courtroom transcript. Most chapters contain multiple story lines, which McNeil cleverly weaves together by the end. And the book's two most fascinating stories — about the making of Deep Throat and the Traci Lords child pornography case — involve unreliable narrators, which gives them a Rashomon-like quality. In the case of Deep Throat, the movie that catapulted hardcore pornography into the mainstream, its star, Linda Lovelace, claims she was forced to perform in the movie, though everyone else connected to the film contradicts her. As for Lords, her detractors make a compelling argument that far from being the victim she portrays herself to be in her book, she deceived the industry about her age so she could make a fortune and leverage her sob story into a mainstream Hollywood career. Whether recounting high-profile scandals or answering trivia about the origins of porn films and lap dancing, this is a relentlessly gripping read. B&w photos. Agent, Jim Fitzgerald. (On sale Feb. 15) Forecast: A 25-city radio campaign and author appearances in Las Vegas, Los Angeles and New York will spike sales. Recent media interest in publisher Regan should also help the book, which, interestingly, is about an industry where attractive, highly sexual women who make bad relationship choices dominate." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

In this uncensored history of the porn film industry, acclaimed underworld chronicler Legs McNeil pulls back the grimy satin sheets on one of the most astounding success stories in the history of American business.

As seen in Vanity Fair:A rollicking, funny, raunchy, and moving oral history of the adult film industryandndash;from Deep Throatthrough today.

As a recent New York TimesMagazine cover story pointed out to average Americans, the adult film industry is a $10 billionandndash;perandndash;year business. It has infiltrated the American mainstream, with its stars showing up as mainstream TV hosts, making guest appearances in Hollywood feature films, and gracing the CD coversandndash;and armsandndash;of rock stars and Hollywood actors alike. But what most people don't know is how the porn industry got startedandndash;with a $22,000 Mafia investment in a film called Deep Throatandndash;or how it mushroomed over the next quarterandndash;century despite efforts by politicians, the FBI, and others to bring it down.

The Other Hollywoodtells that story, through hundreds of interviews by the people who lived through it. In the riveting oralandndash;history format that made his first book, Please Kill Me, one of the most memorable accounts of 1970s underground culture, Legs McNeil now pulls back the grimy satin sheets on one of the most astounding success stories in the history of American business. Careening back and forth between two groupsandndash;the actresses, directors, and others who made the films and the shady underworld figures who financed themandndash;The Other Hollywood offers scores of neverandndash;beforeandndash;told stories, all in the voices of those who lived them.

Witty, always compelling, and ultimately moving,The Other Hollywoodis a Hollywood Babylon for today.

< P> As seen in < i> Vanity Fair: < /i> A rollicking, funny, raunchy, and moving oral history of the adult film industry& ndash; from < i> Deep Throat< /i> through today.< /P> < P> As a recent < i> New York Times< /i> Magazine cover story pointed out to average Americans, the adult film industry is a $10 billion& ndash; per& ndash; year business. It has infiltrated the American mainstream, with its stars showing up as mainstream TV hosts, making guest appearances in Hollywood feature films, and gracing the CD covers& ndash; and arms& ndash; of rock stars and Hollywood actors alike. But what most people don't know is how the porn industry got started& ndash; with a $22,000 Mafia investment in a film called < i> Deep Throat< /i> & ndash; or how it mushroomed over the next quarter& ndash; century despite efforts by politicians, the FBI, and others to bring it down.< /P> < P> < i> The Other Hollywood< /i> tells that story, through hundreds of interviews by the people who lived through it. In the riveting oral& ndash; history format that made his first book, < i> Please Kill Me< /i> , one of the most memorable accounts of 1970s underground culture, Legs McNeil now pulls back the grimy satin sheets on one of the most astounding success stories in the history of American business. Careening back and forth between two groups& ndash; the actresses, directors, and others who made the films and the shady underworld figures who financed them& ndash; The Other Hollywood offers scores of never& ndash; before& ndash; told stories, all in the voices of those who lived them.< /P> < P> Witty, always compelling, and ultimately moving, < i> The Other Hollywood< /i> is a Hollywood Babylon for today.< /P>

Legs McNeil is the coauthor of Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk, a book widely hailed as the definitive work on the subject. The founder of the seminal magazine that gave punk its name, he is a former editor at Spin and editor-in-chief of Nerve. McNeil also wrote Marilyn Chambers's comeback film, Still Insatiable. He divides his time between New York and Los Angeles.