This short book by award-winning historian Edward Shorter explores the popular appeal of erotica and the allure of fetish sadomasochism. Shorter, a professor at the University of Toronto, is the author of 'Written in the Flesh: A History of Desire' which was short-listed for Canada’s major literary prize, the Governor General’s Award for Non-Fiction. Here, he focuses solely on fetish and sadomasochism, a side-bar in the history of desire. It was unknown in the ancient world and for some has been part of tool kit for sexual pleasure for only 100 to 200 years.