In the Flesh: Undressing for Success [ILLUSTRATED] (Hardcover)

~ Gavin Geoffrey Dillard (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 249 pages
• Publisher: Barricade Books; 1st edition (January 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1569801185
• ISBN-13: 978-1569801185
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,059,074 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A well written account of an interesting life in progress., November 5, 1998

By	Roger M. Olien (Austin, Texas) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Gavin Dillard is best known for his poetry, nicely drawn, evocative, and sometimes haunting. In his autobiography, of life so far, he brings many of these same qualities to his prose, together with an engaging wit. He takes his reader from his brief but successful career as a gay porn star, to a lucrative career as an escort, which led to an exciting long-term-relationship, and on to his search for self in poetry and Asian religion. The LTR finally became an obstacle to the publication of this book because the mogul believed he was too readily identifiable and brought in legal bottom-feeders to keep a major press from releasing it. But, it's here! The journies to self-hood through Asian religion will be appealing and accessible to any reader who has made that trek, or even contemplated it, but it is likely that other readers will find it more difficult to get into than the rest of the book. Still, it would be worth the effort. Dillard is still evocative and articulate as he continues his inner quest, and the wit never quite dies on it, a rare achievement.

14 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Bombastic self aggrandizement, December 3, 1999

By A Customer

A bit part player in gay porn who says he has slept with everyone in Hollywood and trys to make his story sound grand and mystic. He is no more than a misguided glitter boy who can't find his way in life and can't grow up. He would lead you to believe that he has all of the answers and more talent than the legends. Poor writing and a story that I couldn't finish.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Witty, often absorbing with immersions in Asian religion., October 27, 1998

By A Customer

The book, often witty and absorbing, could have been called "Gav Does It All." Dillard describes his brief but successful career as a porn star, escorting, a longer term relationship, and his self-validation through a return to poetry and immersion in Asian religion. The porn star experience and escort life have been described before, but rarely with such fresh wit. His ltr turned sour and, by his tell, the other guy managed to keep his book out of print at a major house by tying it up in legal knots, presumably because he could be identified easily by others in the Hollywood set. There is no question but that Dillard writes well. His earlier poetry contained some finely turned verses and some haunting passages. In this book, he shows us once again that he is a wordsmith, in a different form. True, the excursions into Asian religion will leave readers who have not gone down that road somewhat baffled because Dillard is less successful at taking his readers through these inner experiences than he was at keeping us with him as he did it all.