The New Topping Book

I don't have too much to say about this as I just want this to stop popping up in my review queue, but I read the book and it seems pretty informational for someone that's just getting into things, feels like a lot of info to get started.

I mean "dense" in the sense of being packed with information, concepts, and thought provoking stories and questions. So much so that I found myself highlighting entire paragraphs.There is an uplifting philosophy of respect for oneself and for others which runs through the book. This promotes empathy towards others and development of self-understanding.This is a book which will require multiple readings with periods of reflection and exploration between readings from which to garner the greatest benefit.

This is a really good beginner level book for people who are looking to get involved in topping. The book is very good about filling in a complete beginner on terminology used among people who participate in similar play. The book also breaks down some of the more important, yet overlooked aspects of topping among beginners. I would recommend this book for anyone who is looking into becoming a top or anyone in a relationship with a person who wants a top. If you are interested in a deeper level of play (D/s or M/s) there are other books out there...this one won't hurt, but it may not be EXACTLY what you are looking for.

Quality content for those interested in the lifestyle. Basic tenets of BDSM are approached with tact and inclusive language. I would recommend the topping book and the bottoming book for anyone learning about BDSM for the first time, or refreshing themselves on the basics

Really useful information, touches on a lot of topics that other books don't. I had read The New Bottoming Book by the same authors years ago and wanted to give this one a try, and I'm so glad I did. Learned a lot from this book and it gave me lots to think about. It's inclusive, thoughtful, honest, and really shows how experienced the authors are in the subject. Highly recommend this to any top wanting to learn more and get some food for thought, and to any bottom who wants to see the top view of things.

This book was incredible. The content was easy to digest and addressed many areas of topping which I had not considered as a novice. I have already re-read the book after reading some other bdsm literature and still find the book insightful and found aspects that I glossed over previously. Especially helpful for me were the interviews snippets and scenes, which helped me understand that some of my personal fears of being a top are shared by others and its not something that is wrong with me. I would heartily recommend this book to anyone interested in the scene.

I liked the book

I had mixed feelings about "The New Bottoming Book," so it was with somewhat reserved enthusiasm that I picked up its companion volume. I was heartened to discover that "The New Topping Book" included a chapter on full-time D/s, a subject dear to my heart which the authors had previously treated by turns with disdain and disregard.Indeed, Easton and Hardy get off to a promising start here, as they discuss the appeal of topping, the rights and responsibilities of the top, and an exploration of the top persona(e). Unfortunately, the book loses steam about a quarter of the way through. After a brief, rather mystical digression in which the authors wax almost poetic about "intuition" - in fact, they freely admit that "much of this chapter will sound too New Age for words" to many readers - they get back to practical matters, but these chapters are bogged down in unnecessary elaboration and repetition. Easton and Hardy regularly take a page or two to say what could have been said perfectly well in a medium-length paragraph, and some subjects are discussed basically the same way in each of two or more chapters, with the later treatments of the topic adding little or nothing to the first.The authors discuss how to find a partner and how to prepare for a scene. They describe the course of a scene and how to wrap it up, and they provide a basic introduction to the most common BDSM implements and activities. Although the presentation is somewhat tedious for the reasons mentioned above, these chapters are sprinkled with intriguing anecdotes and insights. A number of erotic "interludes" scattered throughout the book describe in detail scenes in which the authors and their friends have been involved; these demonstrate some of the variety among scenes and among tops themselves. It's clear from the chapter on lifestyle D/s that Easton and Hardy still don't quite "get" what it is and why people do it, but at least this time around they've made the attempt.Unfortunately, the last few chapters of the book veer off course. The chapter on using BDSM to explore personal or cultural trauma is intriguing, if a bit New Age-y (again). In the next chapter, the authors discuss BDSM spirituality, and that's where they go completely off the deep end. It's not that there's nothing of value in what they have to say; a brief chapter on such an intensely personal subject is hardly going to capture every possible variety of experience. Still, in a book that takes such commendable, if sometimes overeager, pains to acknowledge diversity in the areas of gender, race, and sexual orientation, it's disconcerting to see the authors suddenly assume that their readers will share their personal spiritual views. Adherents of the Abrahamic religions (that's over half the people on this planet) will find little to nothing here that meshes with their traditions and worldview. The concepts of ritual, archetype, and even mystical "energy" resonate with me to some degree, personally and sexually as well as spiritually, so I was basically with the authors that far even if some of the specifics along the way left me cold - but when they started saying things like "Magic works," as if it were an indisputable fact, they lost me. (And the reference to Puritans being "convinced that God hated sex"? Wrong, wrong, WRONG. They believed sex was part of God's good creation, and although they considered it proper only within the context of monogamous heterosexual marriage, Puritan writers and preachers encouraged husbands and wives to "become one flesh" with joy, affection, and mutual delight.)There are enough good things in this book to make it worthwhile reading for the novice top and a worthy addition to the BDSM library, but it probably shouldn't be the first thing you read, and certainly it shouldn't be the only.

I picked this (and The New Bottoming Book) up about 7 years into the scene. I found it to be one of my favourite, if not my absolute favourite, on the topic. (along with "The Heart of Dominance - Anton Fulmen")I've also recommended it to friends getting into the scene, who have also loved it. I'd strongly recommend it for any experience level!

This book is full of interesting information, especially for noobs like me. It's full of entertaining anecdotes and vital information and insights into bdsm. Highly recommend!

Este livro não se trata de um manual, mas sim de um caso: o dos autores. Eles contam experiências e compartilham o conhecimento que adquiriram em mais de 30 anos dentro do meio do BDSM. Vale a leitura para ventilar as ideas; conhecer novas formas de brincar; e, conhecer o pensamento de outros praticantes.No mais, o livro é escrito de uma forma onde os gêneros são intercambiados, uma hora se usa "he" em outra "she", para não ter problemas com o esteriótipo de "machão alpha dominador". Sem contar as cenas que são descritas, onde a mulher é a top.

An very open minded and nonjudgemental approach, that manages to be practical as well as philosophical. Easy to read and at times very erotic. You feel the love that these two ladies put into their art of BDSM.

I’d read it again!!!