Orientalia: Sex in Asia.

The pictures in this book are in brilliant color, just like the busy red-light districts, buildings and women represented. At first glance the subjects look tragic, weighted by the sadness of waiting around for a trick in a Thai brothel. But look again, and the women are human and real, whether giggling or sitting and smoking, bored. As Tracy Quan says in her introduction, "If you cannot see the humanity of prostitutes in these pictures, you might want to re-examine your own feeling about sex workers."

This is a photo book about Asian whores from Japan, China, Korea and Southeast Asia. Although some of the women have a glamour to them, the portraits differ from the perky voyeurism of well-known Japanese brothel photographer Nobayoshi Araki. Reagan Louie traveled in Asia for six years, visiting and photographing such places as a 12-floor pleasure palace in Bangkok. As Louie states in his insightful essay, partying with prostitutes is simply the way men do business in Asia. Yet as Tracy Quan points out, Asia also currently leads the world in fighting for sex workers' rights, and the long slow work of activism should include allowing people to speak for themselves.

Louie's compelling photos do this, while maintaining the quality of a sideways glance. Each time you look at them, you'll see something or somebody new.