Peter Segal, The Book of Vice

The Book of Vice

Peter Segal

HarperCollins, Oct 2007, $24.95

ISBN: 9780060843823

NPR radio host Peter Sagal provides an amusing look at the behavior of people when they indulge in vice vs. virtue. He makes a point that vice is not sin, but actually socially accepted as long as one follows the military practice of don't tell. For instance the porn industry rakes in billions, but has no customers (try surveying their tastes with a questionnaire). Gambling is illegal in much of the country, but how much is bet on Superbowls and World Series. Whether it is Chicago, San Francisco or New York, Mr. Sagal insists vice is the perfect supply and demand model that should be used to explain economics; as the demand goes up the supply increases, etc.

Well written and irreverent yet relevant with Congressmen finding their supply of vice in workhouses and bathrooms while pushing virtue legislation on the rest of us hedonistic pleasure seekers, readers will appreciate this witty look at vice. Although some of the anecdotal seem padded with reiteration (for instance Mr. Bennett's gambling vice vs. his family values virtue goes on and on and on) this is a fun look at America's pleasure domes with the people the author interviews coming across as you and me.

Harriet Klausner