Gordon Inkeles - The Art of Sensual Massage

Never, never, back in March of 1972, did I imagine writing a preface for a 40th anniversary edition of The Art of Sensual Massage. I knew sensual massage was here to stay but when my book was ready only Rolling Stone, a San Francisco publisher, took notice. NY turned it down, London turned its nose up ("can it really be considered a book?") and South Africa banned it outright due to "interracial touching."

But in San Francisco we had a strong sense that we were right about all kinds of things and the rest of the world was wrong. We didn't just demonstrate against the war, San Francisco made a separate peace treaty with the people of Vietnam. We lived the life we wanted to live and if that meant a mixed marriage or a gay partner nobody raised an eyebrow. You were "only temporarily a tie salesman," as Lawrence Ferlinghetti put it. After work you might be a light show producer, a hang gliding pioneer or a belly dancer. The City was a beautiful, immensely civilized place filled with all kinds of possibilities.

We were young and we celebrated sensuality, which seemed like another revolutionary truth The City had given us. I'll be 70 before this year is over. You certainly can't recapture your youth but this much I know: massage brings the pleasure back. Witness Robert Foothorap's color photos, which were cut from the original edition "to reduce printing costs" and are published here for the first time. Finally.

By 1974 people were asking, "is your book still in print?" I've gotten that question a lot over the past 40 years. Recently, however, the survival debate has widened to include all paper books. Happily, The Art of Sensual Massage is well suited to the e-reader and smart phone, which fit conveniently on any massage surface. The hand formatted e-book edition keeps photos and relevant text together and expands important graphics to fill the screen. Like the paper book, you can feel the pleasure on every page.

Today, every gym, spa and cruise ship offers massage to its customers. But of course, you don't need to write a check or make an appointment with a stranger to get a great massage. Just turn the page.

Gordon Inkeles
June, 2011 Arcata, California
sensualmassage.net

Touch is the oldest and truest form of communion. Work through this book with a lover or friend. Its going to teach you a new way of touching and being touched.

All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photo copying, recording or by any information storage or retrieval system-except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review to be printed in a magazine, newspaper or website-without permission in writing from the copyright owner. For permissions and information contact the publisher.

The quotation from More Joy by Alex Comfort (c) Mitchell Beazley Limited 1973 and 1974 is used by permission of Crown Publishers.
Always consult a doctor if you are in doubt about a medical condition, and observe the cautions given in this book.

This is a book of pleasure

The idea for a book on Sensual Massage originated a little over a year ago. I was living in Berkeley, doing some writing and building a massage practice in the East Bay. Everyone I worked with wanted to learn massage and, as a result, I organized what I hoped would be a series of small intimate workshops. When better than two hundred people responded to a few ads, I decided to put together a book of massage something everyone could take home and use.

It has been a hard year with a few good turns that helped make this book and put it in your hands today.

I wanted the book to be a technical manual, a tool, that was beautiful the way massage is beautiful. Four successive photographers tried to capture the sensuality that is part of every massage. But ultimately, it was Robert Foothorap who proved I wasnt dreaming. If genius is accomplishment, then you must look closely at Foothoraps work. He is, first of all, a perfectionist. The pictures that illustrate the text were chosen from better than three thousand negatives. He printed every photograph himself. Working with a series of tight deadlines Foothorap completed this entire effort, three thousand photographs and hundreds of prints, in just under three months!

I am grateful to my neighbor Jane Wenner who found a home for The Art of Sensual Massage. After reading the manuscript-when it was little more than a heap of text and photos-she said, Dont take this book to New York. Well publish it here in San Francisco where it belongs.

God, or somebody, bless Barbara Kelman, the Straight Arrow editor who took the book home and massaged her fiancee-the best reading I could have hoped for. And I want to thank Jon Goodchild. His clear head and gentle spirit produced a beautiful jacket and book design.