Amsterdam Exposed

Firstly, I have to warn potential readers that this book contains frank discussions and detailed descriptions about adult issues and is 100% NOT SUITABLE FOR READERS UNDER THE AGE OF EIGHTEEN.

** This book also contains details of several trauma triggers. Included topics include drug use, rape, child abuse, suicidal thoughts, and detailed sexual encounter descriptions.**

The author began working on this book in 1999 when he was in Law school; studying in Amsterdam for a semester.

Anyone who has ever given thought to Amsterdam has to admit to being at least mildly curious about its "coffee shops" and it's notorious "Red Light District." Author David Wienir was curious as well, and had gone to Amsterdam not only to study Law,  but also with the express intent to write a book about it's prostitutes and how they had ended up 'working the windows'.

This initially sounded to me like a young, red-blooded male giving himself an excuse to visit and obtain the services of prostitutes under the guise of writing a book. That supposition was quickly proven wrong. David was serious about his book and, early on, he set firm rules for himself which included not paying prostitutes to talk and never becoming a "customer" no matter how much he might have been tempted.

The book details his difficulty in finding women who were interested in being part of his book - for free, and also explains his eventual luck in finding a prostitute who was willing to open up to him.

In addition to David's writing for his book, he also describes his time in Amsterdam - the friends he met,  the adventures they had and the places they visited. This book is part travelogue, part exposé and all riveting.

David Wienir has crafted an extremely readable tale that will both fascinate and horrify readers in equal measure.
Whatever your thoughts are regarding the morality of prostitution, this book is something that everyone should read.

I guarantee AMSTERDAM EXPOSED will make you think more deeply on many issues and since the events chronicled in this tome take place twenty years in the past, readers will be be transported to an earlier, more carefree era.

I rate this book as 4 out of 5 Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐ and commend David Wienir for having the courage and compassion to write about a topic that most people pretend not to see.

The thing with Amsterdam Exposed is that it’s such a well meaning book, it’s difficult to disparage it in any way. But then again, not impossible, so…well, it’s ok, it really is. It’s about a 26 year old American law student who goes to Amsterdam for a semester to study abroad, but mainly with a view to write a book about the prostitution situation there. Don’t smirk, it’s surprisingly unseedy and almost overwhelmingly sincere. No money exchanges, he wants someone to voluntarily tell him their story and after much searching and negotiation he finds the one and something like the final quarter of a book is just a really sad story of a young woman who ends up as the girl in one of the windows in the Red District. And yes, this is a real story, a real experience of the author (a man with a stunningly variegated career) from 1999. So it’s something of a mash up of sociology and a travelogue, though it works nicer as the latter, you get an interesting if somewhat dated look at one of the best (well, it is, isn’t it) cities in the world. The heavy handed moral in the epilogue one can do without. Then again everyone has their thoughts and views on prostitution, it’s certainly been around long enough. The writing is serviceable, but the language can get somewhat stilted, the man’s a lawyer by training, not a born storyteller, the book does read like it was written by a young man, so in that way it does indeed do justice to the author’s 1999 perspective. I enjoyed the armchair trip to Amsterdam, it’s a lovely destination, far more so than my previous one of Lagos, so that part was nice and it was a quick and easy read. Thanks Netgalley.

It is a very hard book to review, in that, it's just...not going to be everybody's cup of tea. If you are under eighteen and thinking of reading it, just don't. I am not tempting you into reading it, that is not what this is, it simply isn't the book for you.

I think the problem with Amsterdam Exposed is the fact that it all happened quite a while ago. A lot has changed since then. Even if I were to discount that, there's also the matter of the way author went about the whole thing. I just couldn't understand why he went to such lengths to do those things, in the end, all we get is just one story of a person who went through a lot. There is a certain lack of sympathy and understanding of the bigger picture. Or maybe that was how the author intended it to be. A singular focus on the problem.

Overall, I loved the way he wrote? His detailed writing is what drew me in, I always love it when authors write with such detail. I also loved the way he used the Dutch language, I have absolutely no knowledge of the language but a friend helped me out. All in all, this book was an eye-opener and not particularly in a good way but if you are interested in getting know Amsterdam, then go for it, it is worth reading.

Forget Frommer's or Berlitz, Amsterdam Exposed reads part tour guide, mostly social commentary in the author's memoir of his time spent in Holland as a college student, as he tries to collect material for his latest book he wants to write. The author encounters a colorful cast of characters and becomes educated on the myriad of lifestyles and customs in the European city. The author does finally get his interview from a subject who works in the red light district; they develop a bond bordering on tentative friendship that deepens as they develop trust. The author does a good job of pulling the reader in and identifying with him in his day to day routine. The reader has to be very open minded with the subject matter in order to grasp the message of his story. I hope Emma's story truly had a happy ending and she didn't return to her former lifestyle.
I received a galley/ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Almost twenty years in the making is Amsterdam Exposed before author David Wienir finally presents his story of the renowned Red Light District, where tourists “come for the weed, stay for the hookers.” Nonetheless, Wienir makes it easy to be drawn into turn-of-the-millenium Amsterdam, as he spends his Thursdays studying international law at Vrije University and his six-day weekends trying to get window girls to talk to him. Amsterdam Exposed is an alluring memoir giving a glimpse down the streets illuminated by red lanterns, as well as into the man who teaches respect for the women who work there.

Wienir opens his memoir having just arrived in Holland for a fall semester studying international law abroad. Wienir brings with him an ulterior motive to write a book about the Red Light District, inspired by a prostitute in Reno who told him that “people forget we’re human,” a year and a half prior. Over the next four months, Wienir sets off to find prostitutes willing to help him with his book, and keeps a code for himself: never pay a prostitute to talk, and never sleep with one. He’s turned down by every woman he encounters except for two, only one of whom actually comes to help Wienir.

Emma is a twenty-five-year-old prostitute from Estonia. She lives two lives in that she does not allow her work life and her personal life to overlap. When Wienir meets Emma in the District, Emma is interested in befriending him, but does not readily talk to Wienir about her work. Wienir devotes time to building Emma’s trust in himself, and eventually reaches Emma while unknowingly invoking change in Emma’s personal outlook.

Wienir actively writes in a voice that weaves the then-current state of Amsterdam with his own story of his time spent. He creates rich and descriptive settings that shine on Wienir’s professional background, effortlessly leading the reader to think of Wienir’s voice as a lawyer in the future casually telling his story over the wining-and-dining of his own law associates. Amsterdam Exposed confidently takes a risqué topic out of a captivating environment and places it in one that is approachable, adventurous, and thought-provoking.

David Wienir has a way with words. His Amsterdam Exposed is easy and pleasant to read.

Repeatedly, he asks what and why it is that women who make or made money by selling their bodies are seen less than humans. In society, it seems not abnormal to make disparaging comments about prostitutes or sex workers.

Too bad he is not that persistent when it comes to people (exclusively men in this book) who pay to have sex, but who are not regarded with slander. Who don't have to deal with contemptuous behavior.

He throws facts and figures around like people feeding the pigeons at Dam Square. Unfortunately, when referring to the red light district De Wallen, he narrows his storyline down to anecdotal information. And even though part of his story is heart breaking, David Wienir fails to reproduce statistics regarding human trafficking, slavery and underage sex workers in this story.

That said, I really enjoyed Wienir's description of Amsterdam at the end of the last millennium. Most of it is accurate and apart from the serious subject it was funny and lighthearted in a good way.

This was actually a pretty decent book. I enjoy reading these types of books but up until now, my interest has lain only in London. A worthwhile change of scenery and highly recommended

This book gives a sharp, brilliant eye to detail. The author gives us a take on one of Europe's most discusses places: The Red Light District. The detail in this novel is told via names of streets, cafes, and fully descriptive details of each place, taking us on the journey along David as he recounts his time spent there.

This memoir is truly groundbreaking and one of its time. David breaks through what we think we know of this place and shows us what it truly is. This famous tourist attraction is not just sex and neon-lit streets but rather one full of pain and heartbreak. David lifts the veil and shows us the lives of the women that work here and what they endure to survive. 

One questions how can such a place be so dark when its so brilliantly lit. When the reader travels with David in this book we are pulled from our comfort zones as we wish to pull through the novel and help the women in this district from such a horrible fate.

This memoir truly is evocative. This emotional story is one heck of a ride from start to finish. I normally don't read many memoirs but this one fascinated when I saw the cover and saw the description. The cover to me speaks of the memoir itself. This cover is beautiful and captivating from the outside but once you get inside the cover (to the actual story) it is heartbreaking and emotional, much like what David describes The Red Light District to truly be. Beauty on the outside but at closer look it is full of secrets, heartaches and so much more. 

5/5 stars from me.

I liked the book of the authors journey to Amsterdam to spend a semester continuing his law studies, and also to get material for a book he had been wanting to write, since his first visit there as a young man. He wanted to write about the red light district in Amsterdam, and find out what it was like for the girls behind those windows, and how they got there.
I liked the story of his time there, the people he met and his daily life with friends and trying to research for his book.
He knew he could not get too involved with the women he tried to interview, but that kind of backfired, in that none of them would give him the time of day, as that was something not of interest to them, no money to be made, meaning no business. He finally had a breakthrough when he met Emma, and she seemed open to giving some information, after a lot of back and forth short encounters he finally got his chance at an interview.
Through this whole process he and Emma became friends and he even fancied himself caring for her, and she for him.
I guess in a way he got what he wanted with that interview on the last day he was in the Amsterdam, but I don't know if this was what he intended having only the opinion of one prostitute and not many to make comparisons on why they chose to enter and stay in this field. Emma's life story was a hard one and I think he probably did make a difference in her life.
It was a well written and interesting story.
I would like to thank NetGalley and De Wallen Press for the ARC of this book.

Intriguing take on an inviting, intriguing city. Learned a lot and really want to travel there. I found it a compelling read.