Hats off to Timothy Gilfoyle. He is a genuine historian. With a topic such as prostitution, it is difficult to track down accurate historic information. After all, there were the written rules and regulations. On the other hand, there was the way that history actually unfolded and Gilfoyle did a remarkable job of conveying his findings.City of Eros details New York's sex industry all the way back to the 1700s. This book is filed with several illuminating facts. In particular, many people will probably be surprised to find out that prostitution was essentially decriminalized for most of the city's history. With that said, it was a de facto decriminalization. Some of the most respected names within the social and economic elite class made fortunes by owning property in these vice districts. This was a widely commercialized industry in which the police, city officials, and political machines grew in power from the kickbacks of the prostitution industry. Gilfoyle describes the anti-prostitution reform movement and brilliantly illustrates the socioeconomic/political factors that brought this openly commercialized industry to an end.