Lerman was in the midst of the worlds of publishing, entertainment, theatre, etc. from the 1940s until his death in 1994. He was an editor at Condé Nast for years. He wrote for Mademoiselle and The New York Times. He was the features editor at Vogue and editor in chief at Vanity Fair. He had eye for new fashions, new trends and new ideas.

THE GRAND SURPRISE: THE JOURNALS OF LEO LERMAN is itself a surprise. We start in 1939 and wind up in 1993. Lerman had signed a contract with Random House to do a memoir. He never did one. Instead, he did commentary on his journals; the effect is charming--that great chance to comment on your younger self and your younger self's opinions. At any rate, Lerman seems to have known just about everyone and was the gatekeeper of the gossip. From 1982, reporting on news from Nicholas Lawford: " 'I am in a state of shock. I rang up Lincoln Kirstein and asked him to tell me anything about Horst, and he replied--so sweetly and gently and nicely--that he couldn't tell me anything about Horst because Horst was a psychotic liar and he, Lincoln, had tried to kill him once. I feel absolutely sick--is Lincoln mad?' I had to tell Nicholas that Lincoln is mad. Lincoln has done good and been celebrated and has been mad--sometimes violently-for years--even put away." Lerman had a life crowded with crowds and incidents. His parties sound worthy of Holly Golightly, though perhaps with a tonier crowd. His was the time to be in New York and in his trade--Gotham's Golden Age. The book was edited by STEPHEN PASCAL, who had worked with Lerman for more than a dozen years in various publishing assignments.

THE GRAND SURPRISE is published in hardcover by Alfred A. Knopf. It is 652 pages and includes black and white photographs and an index, $37.50

Sessums begins his narrative thus: "The thing I remember from that night as much as I remember Frank Hain's blood-soaked bed, as much as I remember what was left of his gelatinous head after the crowbar had done it's work, as much as I remember how his body had been bound and gagged with his own silk neckties, as much as I remember the instant nausea that those sights can induce in a teenage boy who discovers them, was the way my foot shook on the gas pedal after I cranked up my old Comet and headed straight to Carl's..."

Sessums is currently a contributing editor at ALLURE. He spent 14 years at VANITY FAIR. Before that, he was executive editor at INTERVIEW. MISSISSIPPI SISSY is a hardcover from St. Martin's Press, $24.95

He worked as an escort in Europe. Moving to the USA, he made money hustling. He invested his earning in his new company, Lucas Entertainment. His is a story of transformation and making it. There's lots of hard work. He's known to be a witty raconteur; he claims he doesn't drink, smoke or do drugs. His rep, coming up through the industry, was that of a maverick.

Parts of his story have a surreal cast to them, but Lucas is candid with the stories he has to tell, the personalities, the events, the struggles and his achievements. There's a charming chapter wherein we find Lucas giving an address at Yale University, an event in which he took pride.

NAKED is a trade paperback from Kensington, $15.00

In his latest, ROMA: THE NOVEL OF ANCIENT ROME, Saylor tells the story of the first thousand years of Rome, narrated by the voices of two prominent families. Saylor's is a tapestry of history, legend and new archaeological discoveries--from the founding myth of Romulus and Remus until it becomes the center of the greatest Western Empire. Along the way are: Coriolanus, the taking of Rome by the Gauls, the invasion of Hannibal, the bitter struggles between the patricians and the plebeians, the long and agonizing death of the Republic and the murder of Julius Caesar. This is a panoramic novel, with a very big agenda to cover. For Saylor, this is cozy and familiar material and he incorporates it well into this satisfying story. This is his home turf.

ROMA is a hardcover from St. Martin's Press, $25.95

Mogutin has an interesting bio. He was thrown out of the Soviet Union--what's the old joke: "I've been thrown out of better dumps!"--for what the apparatchiks noted was "malicious hooliganism with exceptional cynicism and extreme insolence." The Soviet taxonomy of behaviors was always a thing to behold. Mogutin moved on to New York City, a place wherein his deficiencies in the USSR turned into a big plus. I recall, back when I ran Glad Day Bookshop, we had a book by Mogutin. It was, I think, mostly poetry, perhaps some essays, both in Russian and in English and illustrated with some erotic line drawings by the author.

His latest is LOST BOYS. I do not know if all these photos were taken after the USSR collapsed. Many are just nice shots of young men, even if photographed in extreme or sexual poses. But the overall theme of the book, which is well looking at again and again, is End Of Empire. It's not quite Weimar, but it has that feel to it. Russia on the rocks. I think there's some East Germans in here too. It is quite a piece of work.

LOST BOYS is a hardcover from powerHouse Books, $39.95

She is faced with a class of Southern belles; their primary concern about making a fist is will it ruin their manicures. Aud sets out to deprogram them, get them to stop being nice, but the belles rebel and make it clear to Aud that she just might not know as much as she thinks she does.

With her armor cracked, Aud moves from Atlanta to Seattle to investigate a case of real estate fraud. It seems to be a simple case of greed, kickbacks and corruption, but in fact Aud just may have met her match, in more ways than one. By stepping up this challenge, Aud may have to confront the very challenges she has always avoided--the force of her own desires, the thrill and terror of losing control.

ALWAYS is a hardcover from Riverhead Books, $26.95

These lists books are a regular feature from various publishers over the years. This one is a little bit smarter and funnier than some of the others I've carried. Shaw gives us "Ten Appalling Pontiffs," "Ten Former Occupations of Dictators" (Romania's Ceausescu was a shoemaker), and "Ten Great Unwashed" (King Louis XIV took only three baths in his entire lifetime, each of them under protest; thus the French perfume industry).

Silly and smart, Shaw gets it right. 5 PEOPLE WHO DIED DURING SEX is a trade paperback from Broadway Books, $12.95

Roffman's duotones are intimate photos of each twin alone and some playful snaps of the men together. This is a solid addition to Roffman's catalogue. It is a hardcover, $35.95

In this latest novel, we find Jeff O'Brien, whose life has finally taken shape. He's a best-selling author. He lives in Provincetown with Lloyd Griffith, his longtime lover and soon to be legal husband. They seem to have everything, even the opportunity to raise Jeff's 10-year-old nephew.

Their best friend, Henry Weiner, escort-turned-erotic energy worker, pines for what Jeff and Lloyd have. Henry's no longer the muscleboy he was in his twenties, but he still has hope and a chance meeting at a tea dance changes everything.

Enter Luke West. Handsome and seductive, Luke's come to P-Town to find himself and start a career as a writer. He works his way into Jeff and Lloyd's lives, setting off desire, longing--and suspicion. Henry has a different take on Luke, pegging him as something other than whom he appears to be. Henry is determined to reveal Luke's secrets.

MEN WHO LOVE MEN is a hardcover from Kensington, $24.00

Haggard had made the acquaintance of MIKE JONES, who, among his other activities, worked as an escort and massage therapist. Jones was also a bodybuilder. Jones saw Haggard on a regular basis, but the tipping point came with Haggard's jag against same-sex nuptials. Jones went public. It wan an above-the-fold story for about two days.

Jones, along with SAM GALLEGOS, has written his story, I HAD TO SAY SOMETHING: THE ART OF TED HAGGARD'S FALL. Since Haggard's behaviors have been public, there have been more; this is an assembly line that will not stop; how could it? It is one of the oldest stories in America--the blessed divine, preaching about The Way, and then losing his. I think about the recent French election for their President and the things that were said about the mores of their candidates and other previous occupants of the office made me think: the French do it differently. And perhaps in a better way.

I HAD TO SAY SOMETHING is a hardcover from Seven Stories, $23.95