Product Description
This book, written by a pastoral theologian with years of experience in counseling gay and lesbian individuals and their families, assist both pastoral caregivers and congregations in examining and enhancing their pastoral care of homosexuals and their families. This thoughtful book provides factual information, theological and biblical insight, and practical counseling skills to help congregations become caring communities for gays and lesbians. ... Read more

Product Description
Here is a serious discussion of an emerging gay subculture!

Take another fascinating journey into the bear's den with the latest offering from Les Wright, author of The Bear Book. The Bear Book II will show you the contrast between the media image of the fun-loving, carefree bear man and the health, image, psychological, technological, and sexual concerns of bears living in the real world.

A continuation of The Bear Book (1997), this study of typically big, hairy, and bearded gay men explores bears on a societal and personal level, giving a wide voice to bears of all ages, nationalities, and cultures.

Among the topics The Bear Book II: Further Readings in the History and Evolution of a Gay Male Subculture discusses are:

• health concerns of bears
• bear body images
• self-esteem issues for bears
• physical and psychological bear attributes as portrayed in the media versus actual individual accounts
• social and sexual institutions in the bear community
• the role of the Internet in creating a global bear subculture

Customer Reviews (7)

More on Bears
Wright, Les K. "The Bear Book II: Readings in the History and Evolution of a Gay Male Subculture" Routledge, 2001.

More on Bears

Amos Lassen

Les Wright continues his look at bear culture that he began in the "The Bear Book" by providing more essays. This volume looks at health, image
and psychological, technological and sexual concerns. It is designed so that we can better understand the life of the bear and a subculture in the making.
A diverse group of writers talk about bears and some of them are right on the button while others are way off and this is the fault of the book. Leading writers include Michael Bronski, Jack Fritscher and David Bergman. In the forward there is a good deal of bear history while the individual essays cover the other aspects.
The range of essays is much broader than the first volume and the most rewarding readings are the interviews with bears. What makes the book what it is are the views that are authentic if a bit technical. And there are photographs of bears and events and we all like to look at pictures.

This honey of a book made this Papa feel happy and connected
This book is a fine read from start to finish. Of course, it has its ups and downs, but all the bears speaking are valuable voices. Editors Les Wright and Jack Fritscher dare to go bright and brave into the history and politics of bear identity--as do the other writers. The Bear History Project does itself proud, and I recommend this personable book, full of fact and opinion, for every dedicated bear's book shelf.

This honey of a book made this Papa feel happy and connected
This book is a fine read from start to finish. Of course, it has its ups and downs, but all the bears speaking are valuable voices. Editors Les Wright and Jack Fritscher dare to go bright and brave into the history and politics of bear identity--as do the other writers. The Bear History Project does itself proud, and I recommend this personable book, full of fact and opinion, for every dedicated bear's book shelf.

interesting but flawed
This is an interesting addition to BEAR BOOK I...with a broader range of articles.These range from lots of personal accounts of the politics of bear groups (which become a little repetitive after a while), to unreadable sociological tracts, to some interviews with "movers & shakers" in the bear movement.What the book lacks is input from some of the more obvious "movers & shakers" - like the guys running some of the bear magazines (Bear, American Bear, Gruf etc), or bars (e.g. Lonestar).Instead we are treated to a trite opening essay from Jack Fritcher who - according to him - singlehandedly began the movement.Well that's not really how I remember it....and I think it was a serious error to give this guy a platform for his egocentric views.That said, if you ignore the intro and get on to the other chapters, it can be a rewarding read.The book could have been more than it is - and I think that this is the great pity of it.

Wright heads a couple a basic bear books for my shelf
I really like this Les Wright book which is real bearguys talking about bearness. It is authentic. I bought the first book in Les Wright's series also, and I enjoyed it just as much. Les Wright was thinking to get bear Jack Fritsher to write the introductory first chapter, because he writes nonfiction as well as he usually writes bear fiction in Bear mag--some which appears in a book collection of bear stories called Tails from the Bear Cult which while it doesn't include Les Wright it does include stories by several really good bear writers like Simon Sheppard, Jay Neil, Mike White and Ron Suresha, one of the foremost bearwriters who has his own book of bear fiction coming up, as well as Charles Eldredge who writes fictional bear history, but more erotic than the kind Les Wright publishes. Atually, it would really be interesting to see Les Wright get all these writers together to make his own collection of bear fiction. All these bearbooks sit well together on my shelf. The writers Les Wright gathers in this book are some of the best, particularly Laurence Brown, Ron Suresha (again!), and Laurence D Mass to name a few. The color photos in The Bear Book are great as are the black and white bear photos in Tales from the Bear Cult, coming close to the original Bear photos in the photo book The Bear Cult. (I like pictures.) What would a bear book be without pictures! It's good to see such well done bear books coming out it seems all at once with a diversity of writers' thoughts and styles and voices. ... Read more

Product Description
The Bear Book brings together an impressive range of bear--usually big, hairy men who favor full-face beards and prefer to wear jeans and flannel shirts--viewpoints to explore this unique social and cultural phenomenon that stretches from America to western Europe to Australia! On the personal level, you learn what beardom means to different people in their daily lives, and on a broader level, its cultural implications for not only the gay community, but also society as a whole. As this book moves across the wide spectrum of bear identities, you learn about the defining forces of identity, the significance of differences among masculinities, and the shapings of the bear movement from different viewpoints.

The Bear Book is the first compilation of sociological and cultural analytical investigations of the contemporary gay bear phenomenon. To this end, Editor Les Wright brings together both objective and subjective viewpoints to create a forum where bears can speak for themselves. Through their voices, you’ll learn about:

• bears and sexual identity
• gay male iconography
• socializing on the Internet
• sexual politics (gender, class, “looks-ism,” and body image)
• gay mass media, the single most powerful force in the current construction of ”bears”
• bears, power, and glamor
• bear-as-image vs. bear-as-attitude
  
  Gays, lesbians, lesbigay scholars, bears, and social scientists are sure to find The Bear Book thought-provoking and insightful as it broaches questions such as: Are bears caught up in a utopian-romantic impulse to reinvent themselves? What was radical lesbianism’s impact on the bear movement? To what extent are bears only another group of exploited consumers in a fragmented market system? And, is it possible to establish social liberation through enslavement to your sexual passions? For both your pleasure and your education, The Bear Book examines nearly every corner of beardom, including bear history, identity, social spaces, iconography, and its constituency abroad.

Customer Reviews (10)

Catering to Bears
Wright, Les. "The Bear Book: Readings in the History and Evolution of a Gay Male Subculture", Routledge, 1997.

Catering to Bears

Amos Lassen

Gay life is often stereotyped as the cult of the beautiful male and indeed, that thought has always been at the heart of gay culture. Yet we all know that there is more to gay life than beautiful men with beautiful bodies. We especially see that in the bear subculture and if you do not know about it Les Wright's "The Bear Book" is a wonderful place to start; it is a collection of literary and sociological essays about sometimes hefty and sometimes hairy men who look for other men like them. The bear culture started about twenty years ago, probably as a response to AIDS and it has become "a defining identity for many gay men". "The Bear Book" takes a look at the gamut of bear culture and thus shows how it evolves un response to those who are part of it as well as to the larger culture. Bears are a significant phenomenon of gay life and it has, of late, begun being taken seriously. The book is necessary reading for those who are interested in understanding the contemporary gay scene.
"The Bear Book" contains essays that are philosophical, sociological and anecdotal and they are about the atypical gay male. What we have is an interesting and informative book about how the bear culture began and the people behind it. It is a bit heavy on history but the personal coming-out stories are wonderful and in some cases moving.

If you're curious, buy it.
Good book for those in cultural studies, or someone curious about this subculture.

Dr. Bear..paging Dr. Bear...
While this book is heavy on history, it also reads like a college textbook into the history, culture, health and psychological aspect of the gay men who identify as "bears".

Some of the chapters dragged, especially the ones dealing with the early 90's and the chat rooms and drama...but the ones that touched me were the personal coming out stories, and the men coming to terms with their bodies and attitudes in conservative America.Definatly a book that will stay on my shelf for many years to come.

Pretty awful stuff
While it's commendable that someone would try to write a book that attempts to examine the history of the bear "movement" and try to figure out what it's all about, this book is simply terrible. The "research" is not even of high school quality; for example, the article that attempts to show that bears sprung up in the United States first by tracking the dates that the Resources for Bears page was first accessed in each country -- totally laughable and unacceptable to any serious social scientist.

The portions on the history of bears are mostly San Francisco scene name-dropping, and there's no serious attempt to examine the origin of the bear "movement" by taking a look at its roots in the leather community or in Girth and Mirth. Instead, we're told that bears came about because HIV-positive San Francisco men looked at extra weight as a sign of health in the mid-to-late eighties. No proof, just assertions.

Do yourself a favour and skip this book.You can spend your money better elsewhere.

More driblle from Les Wright
Oh, more of the pseudo-intellectual self serving nonsense from Les Wright. Save your money and spend it on a good razor and some shaving cream. Grow up Les! ... Read more

Product Description
This is a question that has plagued humankind through the ages, or at least ever since Riff lost his heart to Tony in West Side Story and Ethel Merman proved that you don't have to be a drag queen to find love with a high C. In this book, John Clum gives us a guided tour through the history of the musical comedy in UK and US culture, examining specifically why gay men find it so attractive. Along the way he shines a spotlight on the allure of the diva; the lives of Noel Coward, Cole Porter, and Lorenz Hart, the homophobia of Rogers and Hammerstein, the mixed musical messages of Stephen Sondheim, and the first brassy notes of the overture to 'Gypsy'Amazon.com Review
If you think this is one of those academic gay- or gender-studies-type tomes that applies a lot of incomprehensible French terms to good old-fashioned American entertainment, think again. John M. Clum may be a professor at Duke, but what this garrulous gay-inflected romp around the past 75 or so years of musical theater reveals him to be is, to use his own affectionate term, a hopeless and incurable "show queen." Indeed, Something for the Boys is so personal and idiosyncratic in its survey of the gay side/subtext of musical theater that's it's kind of like a looooong dinner with an invaluable surviving old-school elder queen. You know the type--she's seen every show and/or owns every score since 1703 and she's not afraid to hold forth tartly on everything from Julie Andrews's performance in the film of Victor/Victoria ("She was Mrs. Blake Edwards and that's why she was at the center of a Blake Edwards film") to Rodgers and Hammerstein (whose work Clum provocatively finds impossible to extract a gay reading from--or, in his words, to "queer"). Of course, she's also got the last word on every diva to walk the floorboards, from Garland ("the Wreck Who Went On--brilliantly") and Streisand (who has "the toughness that drag queens aspire to") to Bernadette Peters ("as close to a diva as the New York theater has produced in the past 30 years") and an underrated treasure like Barbara Cook (whose story reflects that of gay history, Clum informs us, since she "'came out' as a fat woman." We're sure Miss Cook's happy to know that).

Clum writes that he didn't intend this book as a traditional thesis-based academic tome, which is good, since it fails miserably in that regard. He too loosely throws around terms like "camp," "irony," and "diva" that others have applied careful meanings to. He refers more than once to The Queen's Throat, Wayne Koestenbaum's meditation on the storied bond between gay men and opera divas, but fails to do what that book did so brilliantly even amidst its over-the-top language--pinpoint the reason gay men have traditionally been so drawn to a particular genre. (Koestenbaum argues that the full-throated utterances of the opera diva gave release to the rage and pain pre-Stonewall gays weren't allowed to express, but Clum never attains as deep a conclusion, chalking up the gay Broadway link to those tired old undefined catch-alls "camp" and "irony"). Clum suggests that what sports are to many straight men, musical theater has been to many gay men, and, in the end, the facile nature of his own survey supports such an analogy: When there's a gay reading to be found in a show or song (as there always is, he insists, in Porter, Coward, or Lorenz Hart), the gays "win"; when there's not (as in Hammerstein), or when it's not as clear (as in Sondheim's Company, notoriously), the gays "lose"...or the game goes into overtime.

But I'm just quibbling. I read Clum's book straight through to the end (including his lushly opinionated personal discography) because I envy and aspire to this kind of encyclopedic, microscopic knowledge of art and entertainment as a sort of venerable gay badge of honor. So if, like me, Lady in the Dark, Anyone Can Whistle, and Mack and Mabel mean as much to you as Crazy for You, Follies, and Mame, you'll quit your bitching, Mary, and eat it up, too.--Tim Murphy ... Read more

Customer Reviews (17)

Apples and Oranges
I have to COMPLETELY and UTTERLY disagree with the folks here tha point to "a place for us" as an alternative to this book. I thought Clum did an EXCELLENT job at relating his personal take on the world of Musical Theater and Gay culture - which is states in the book does not exist (I agree with him). Part of the problem in today's society is that people take too seriously that which is NOT to be taken seriously. This is MUSICAL THEATER, not death and taxes. I laughed out loud so many times that I lost count.

Whereas that other book (place for us) - YUCK. There is one thing I can't stand in this world - "The Academic Suck." That snob from Columbia is just that, and academic suck - did anyone really like it when Bob Dole spoke about himself in third person - NO, except for the humor of it and that got old really fast.

So comparing this book to Place for us by Miller is like comparing dykes on bikes and drag queens - or for you academic sucks - apples and oranges.

A suggestion
A reviewer below wrote: "if you're looking for some insight into the connection between musical theatre and gay culture, look somewhere else."

I agree, and would suggest D.A. Miller's PLACE FOR US, which delves deeply and originally into this question. Miller's book has taken a lot of flack for its difficult prose and complex ideas, but it is very rewarding. Be warned that unlike Clum's book, miller's is aimed at those who already know the subject well and are interested in delving deeper.

Yah, what he said...
This book is an interesting read, but as everyone else says, there are myriads of errors.

My biggest problem is that Mr. Clum has a case of Diva Worship (don't we all!), but he comes off as very condescending. Every page I turned made me angrier and angrier. Many times I felt as if he makes fun of all the actresses he tries to praise. He describes the word camp as "a disguise that fails", and uses camp to describe Marlene Dietrich. Marlene may have descended into Camp in her later years, but it seems as if he denies the fact that she was even a legitimate actress (this is just the only example I cite, trust me, their are many many more). He also doesn't like Patti LuPone, so he avoids her completely. Well, I don't like Linda Eder very much, but you can be damned sure that if I were to write a book like this I would include some nice info on her.

This book should have been much more objective, but alas, Clum fails. I would never want to go to the theater with this man. If reading a book of his is this unenjoyable, I can't imagine what he's like in person.

spell check
Wow...This book sure could have used a proofreader.Several typos throughout make a somewhat interesting book frustrating to read.

Something for the Girls Too!
All right, I admit it.I'm straight and female, so I was curious about the gay subculture in broadway musicals.I never really understood the gay appeal of "Gypsy" and "Wizard of Oz" until I read this book.(Oh, so gays identify with Louise with her dominating mother and with her feelings of inadequancy?So gays understand Dorothy's loneliness until she experienced the colorful and accepting world of Oz?Now I get it!)I was able to see the Broadway musical through gay eyes and found the experience much richer than before.Being anuninformed straight, I needed a gay author to lay his cards on the table and tell me exactly WHY characters and divas appeal to gays.

Therefore, I was pleased that this book was not another academic book on gay broadway, but was a gay man's personal experience with the theater.So what if his opinions did not jive with other gays?After all, who can really know why a particular musical appeals to a particular person?I liked his admittance that these were his own personal favorites, and to hell with the critics.I might have disagreed with his dismissing Liza Minnelli and Vanessa Williams as divas (if they aren't, who is?), but his "bitchy" (sorry) comments made it all worthwhile.

The only complaint I have is about the godawful cover.Seeing a middle-aged man in drag is not pleasing to my eye.So there.I guess if Mr. Clum is entitled to his opinion, I'm entitled to mine. ... Read more

Product Description
"Macho Love: Sex Behind Bars in Central America is the first in-depth study of sexual culture and AIDS in Latin prisons. Psychologists, social workers, criminologists, and AIDS specialists will discover a shocking realization of how the interplay of sexual ideals, prostitution, manipulation, resistance, and power relationships among prisoners and some staff are based on money, sex, drugs, and violence. Macho Love gives you a stirring and emotional look at the various risks and dangers lurking in the Latin American prison culture and discusses how Costa Rican and Central American prisons are improving the situation with new intervention programs."--BOOK JACKET. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A Fascinating Study Of An Heretofore Unknown Culture
I found this book to be interesting, insightful, and at the same time frustrating, maddening, pathetic, and titillating!Schifter worked years to gain the trust and confidence of men in a latin prison, the result of which is this work. I would have appreciated a more thorough analysis of his conversations, as well as greater insight into the future. Hopefully in a future revision.The book is FAR more than a sexy look into male sexuality behind bars. I learned far more than I expected and, for that, am thankful to the author!

"Oz" as ethnography
This book divides into two clear halves.The first half discusses three types of homosexual relations found in a Costa Rican jail.This will be the section that non-academic readers will enjoy.It's fun reading about men in a Latin American country saying, "Yup!I love relations with dudes."Some of the interviews are filled with wild, sexy tales that will set your imaginations on fire.However, this book has many disturbing examples of prisoners abusing men and women, sexually and non-sexually, both in jail and outside of it.Though not writing in Spanglish, many colorful colloquialism shine through in the translations here.

The latter half consists of policy recommendations to curb the transmission of AIDS in Costa Rican jails.Academics and policy wonks may prefer this section.The author conducted self-improvment and AIDS education workshops for these prisoners.Obviously biased, he recounts how the interviewees thought the programs were phenomenally helpful.Some of this policy recommendations do not have the slightest chance of being enacted.Still, it is good that ideas are tossed around from well-intentioned observations.This book may be helpful for prison officials in the United States as well as AIDS activists that want to improve their outreach to American Latino MSM.

Many books on Latin American gay men say that heterogenderal relationships are the norm, but egalitarian couples (also called "internacionales") are becoming seen.Here, the author suggests that class is the basic determinant for which homosexuality is most common.This book gives clear evidence of how both types can exist in a Latin American country.Still, the older type (in this book called "cacherismo") wants to see the newer type wiped out.And heterogenderal coupling is not made to look respectful here.Thus, despite thinkers who argue that there are homosexualities, rather than homosexuality, those men within those models still fight to ensure their way of loving remains the norm.

I now understand why the author writes to prolifically on gay men in Latin America.This book is a fun, quick read at the same time that it grapples with competent anthropology and decent policymaking. ... Read more

Product Description
This book is a serious study of male hustlers using experiential dialogue to introduce the reader to real-life concepts and experiences that otherwise could not be effectively conveyed. An intriguing attempt to get into the mind and personality of the male hustler through a largely imagined series of dialogues between a well-known fictional hustler and his so-called amanuensis, Samuel Steward, this unique book covers all aspects of the hustler’s motivations, activities, life style, adjustments, advantages, and disadvantages. It accomplishes this dispassionately, without prejudgment, moral censure, approbation, or more than cursory involvement.

Therapists and counselors in all fields of sexual functioning will find here some understanding of the causes and impulses (beyond the popular “broken home syndrome”) that lead young males into prostitution. It signals some of the signposts to danger and serious threats to health that accompany the profession of prostitution and also explains to counselors some of the activities and practices of the male prostitute, enabling them to have a better understanding of the fascination and peril of the hustler’s life. The brevity of success in such a calling is also considered, with some consideration for the necessity of long-range planning for the hustler’s future.

Important contents:

• interview of a well-known hustler
• brief look at early male prostitution--Greek, Roman, Burton’s theory
• the peacock period and youth as a prerequisite for hustling
• lures of the profession--money, power, other motivations
• paths and mechanisms leading to hustling
• characteristics of different types of hustlers
• types of clients patronizing hustlers
• literary illuminations
• the modus operandi of the male hustler
• extraordinary dangers confronting the male hustler today
• the attractiveness of the “seeing-through” of a hustler to past clients
• quo vadis for the hustler after youth passesReaders will be amazed by the daily hazards and drawbacks as well fascinated by the curiosities and rewards of the hustler’s profession. Especially of interest to therapists and counselors, Understanding the Male Hustler is also valuable for sociologists, anthropologists, medical specialists, psychiatrists, psychologists.

Customer Reviews (2)

Recommended
Inches called this serious study of male hustlers "a complete surprise and a joy to read."It's not so surprising, though, when you consider that the author has been both a college professor and a full-timetatto artist!He brings the academy and the underground together with this20-year empirical study that penetrates the mind and personality of themale hustler.Based on interviews with hundreds of hustlers, Steward'sbook creates an imagined series of dialogues that explore the motivations,activities, lifestyles, advantages and disadvantages of boys who take moneyfor sex.

try the real thing!
Unfortunate for the author that he did not seek out more reality to basehis fiction upon.This reviewer might have even been willing to impartsunlight on the subject due to one's own 22 years in the "biz." Not all MaryJanes out there have a deep emotional problem, and not allyoung lads eager to enhance their income are walking psychological studiesin instability, though I've surely met a fair percentage over the past twodecades... reality can both bite and titilate... ... Read more

Product Description
Twenty-seven gay writers--including Andrew Holleran and Christopher Bram--explore the places they think of as their homes and create a telling portrait of gay identity, culture, and community. Reprint. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Superb essays on gay writers' sense of where they are from
The late John Preston's collections of essays by American gay male writers about where they live now or lived when they were growing up is always interesting and ofteninsightful. Among other things, it shows that the elite (creationist) discourse about social construction remains very far from the lived experience of even articulate and reflective natives.Michael Nava's memoir of Sacramento and Jesse Monteagudo's of Miami struck me tas the most poignant and insightful. The absence of any Asian-Americans was noticeable. It would be interesting to know if American lesbian writers have similar senses of place and to link these splendid accounts to theories of cognition of place, but these are both other projects. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

I remain an immoralist
Although published in a special series, Jeffrey Escoffier's book gives a fair picture of the greatest economist of all times.
He draws heavily on R. Skidelsky's first 2 volumes of his magisterial biography of Keynes (the 3rd volume was not published when this book was edited), but he summarizes excellently Keynes's life and work.

Economically speaking, Keynes's core message is that in times of economic depression, governments should intervene in the economic process and boost people's income through public work programs. This stimulus is multiplied because part of the injected money is spent again and again.
In his characteristic sarcastic style Keynes lambastes the `love of the possession of money' as a disgusting morbidity. For him, thrift is a semi-pathological propensity. Enterprise is the creative force of the economy: the creation of goods that contribute to the pleasure of human interaction and aesthetic satisfaction.
Keynes saw the gold standard as a barbarous, naïve and unrealistic relic, surrendering the price level and the business cycle to the US Fed (holder of the bulk of the world's gold supply). Escoffier tells us that the gold exchange standard (use of convertible currency instead of gold as a reserve) was first adopted by the Indian government.

Keynes's famous phrase `In the long run we are all dead' has its roots in his probability theory. He stressed the political and ethical limitations of `long-term' notions in order to justify policies that are harmful in the short run: `Economists set themselves too easy a task if in the tempestuous seasons they can only tell us that when the storm is long past the ocean is flat again.'

Ethically, Keynes was influenced by the philosophy of G.E. Moore: `personal affections and aesthetic enjoyments include all the greatest goods we can image.' Keynes's life and loves were a reaction against the puritanical Victorian moral attitude. During a great part of his life Keynes was an active homosexual without the slightest guilt. He even had casual sex with male street prostitutes.

His global view of mankind was elitist: `Civilization was a thin and precarious crust erected by the personality and the will of a very few.'

Jeffrey Escoffier's book shows us Keynes as an immoralist, sexually in the Victorian sense, and economically in the classical sense.

Not to be missed.

N.B. I do not agree with the author that Wittgenstein and Heidegger were the greatest philosophers of the 20th century. I believe Einstein, Heisenberg, Russell and Popper were much more important.

Keynes was bisexual/gay up to 1922 and straight thereafter
Escoffier(E)does an average job in analyzing Keynes's economics and politics for a young adult just starting out in college.There are some inaccuracies relating to Keynes's sexual orientation over his life span.First,Keynes,like his brother and sister,was sent away from home to board at schools and colleges where the instructors and staff were primarily gay men and women.In such an environment it should come as no surprise that he would adopt a similar lifestyle.Keynes was never gay.A more accurate description of Keynes up till 1922 was that he was gay/bisexual.Keynes met Lydia Lopokova in 1919.In 1922,he started to date her more and more frequently.They married in 1925.Keynes was straight from that time on.The best book on their relationship is "Lydia and Maynard"(1989).The publisher is Scribners.Escoffier presents noreliable evidence that Keynes continued agay or bisexual lifestyle after 1924.Given the very negative reception to Keynes's marriage by his former male sexual partners,the evidence is overwhelming that Keynes went straight.The subtitle of this book,"Lives of Notable Gay Men and Lesbians",is somewhat misleading.

A well rounded Maynard Keynes
Escoffier's book, part of a series called Lives of Notable Gay Men and Lesbians, admirably recaps the career of John Maynard Keynes, practical man, entrepreneur, aesthete, homosexual (well, probably)and, least I forget, the most important economist of the twentieth century.

The series, so far as I can tell, aims to provide biographies of prominent gay people targeted at bright adolescents. Escoffier's book fulfills its mandate, but does much, much more. In a very small compass it describes the period 1900-1945, discusses the political and economic questions that took up much of Keynes' life, and paints a rather engaging portrait of the Bloombury group. It is also a surprisingly balanced biography of Keynes. Without wanting to denigrate the series, I fear that the rubric under which the book appears will frighten off potential readers who are neither queer nor under 20 years of age.

That would be a mistake.Other than the massive three volume biography, and Heilbroner's witty synopsis of 40 years ago, there is a real paucity of good information about John Maynard Keynes, and an excess of misinformation, maybe even disinformation. This biography can be read in an afternoon, possibly at one sitting, yet it is good enough to recommend to anyone who wants to understand that political and monetary hopes and disappointments of the first half of the twentieth century.Escoffier is not afraid to call them as he sees them, but the result is surprisingly fair and balanced, even ifI would not have phrased some things the way Escoffier did . His stress on exploitation as the hinge on whichthe Edwardian economy turned gave me pause, but it is not necessarily incorrect.So far as I can tell, Escoffier's views on a number of questions are quite different from those of Keynes, nor is this book a work of hagiography, which makes the overall fairness of the result even more remarkable. In short, I really do recommend that you read this book ifyou have any interest in any of its topics: Edwardian Britain, the Treaty of Versailles, economics, Bloomsbury, government finance (the Bush administration seems to be radically "keynesian" in a way John Maynard might not have approved), or being queer in the first part of the 20th century.

Not all that he's chalked up to be
This book shows a new side of John Maynard Keynes -- one which is not particularly well known.It shows the man behind the economic genius and does this quite well.I loved this book. ... Read more

Product Description
The 18th century was a wealth of knowledge, exploration and rapidly growing technology and expanding record-keeping made possible by advances in the printing press. In its determination to preserve the century of revolution, Gale initiated a revolution of its own: digitization of epic proportions to preserve these invaluable works in the largest archive of its kind. Now for the first time these high-quality digital copies of original 18th century manuscripts are available in print, making them highly accessible to libraries, undergraduate students, and independent scholars.
Western literary study flows out of eighteenth-century works by Alexander Pope, Daniel Defoe, Henry Fielding, Frances Burney, Denis Diderot, Johann Gottfried Herder, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, and others. Experience the birth of the modern novel, or compare the development of language using dictionaries and grammar discourses.
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The below data was compiled from various identification fields in the bibliographic record of this title. This data is provided as an additional tool in helping to insure edition identification:
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National Library of Scotland

N048595

Verse.The titlepage is engraved.One of two settings with the same titlepage. In this setting the last line of text on A2r ends "as he pro-", catchword: bably; the lines of text are close together and Q3 is unsigned.

London : printed by Darton & Harvey, for F. & C. Rivington, B & B. White, T. Longman, B. Law & Son, [and 14 others in London], 1793. [2],xvi,256p., plates ; 8° ... Read more

Product Description
This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process.We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
This major biography is the first full-length life of John Gay (1685-1732) for over fifty years. David Nokes's detailed and extensive research has unearthed several new discoveries, including hitherto unpublished letters, and possible attributions. Presenting Gay as a complex character, torn between the hopes of court preferment and the assertion of literary independence, this book is at once a lively and readable biography for the non-specialist, as well as a comprehensive and scholarly study. ... Read more

Product Description
PREFACE. Comparatively few words are necessary to introduce this volume to the public tlirough the medium of the Chandos Classics, Tlie popularity of these "Fables" has boen proved by the numerous editions which have appeared from time to time in this and other countries. Apart from the "Fables" themselves, this volume contains a fuller biographical notice than has previously been issued, in which the writer has taken advantage of many interesting facts which have recently come to light in connection with Gay's life and works; he has incorporated in the sketch some valuable and interesting statements made at Barnstaple, on the occasion of the bi-centenary of Gay's birth in that town. Also for the first time in any complete biography, a correct statement appears as to the date of the poet's birth, previous writers having accepted an erroneous statement on this point. One other important feature of this work is the Bibliographical Appendix, which contains, as far as possible, a

Table of Contents

CONTENTS; PREFACEix; LIFE OF GAY, WITH NOTICES OF HIS WORKS 11; TABLE OF FABLES-FIRST SERIES; Introduction to the Fables-The Shepherd and the Philosopher 55; I-To Ms Highness William, Dithe of Cumberland-The; Lion, tub Tiger, and the Traveller , 59; II-The Spaniel and the Chameleon 63; III-The Mother, the Nurse, and the Fairy 66; IV-The Eagle and the Assembly of Anihal3 69; V~The Wild Boar and the Ram72; VI-The Miser and Plutus 74; VII-The Lion, the Fox, and the Geese 77; VIII-The Lady and the Wasp -80; IX,-The Bull akd the Mastiff83; X-The Elephant and the Book sell ee 85; Xt-The Peacock, the Turkey, and the Goose 89; xii-Cupid, Hymen, and Pltjtus92; XIIL-Tim Tame Stag95; xl V-The Monkey who had Seen the World 97; XV--The Philosopher and the Pheasants 100; XVI-The Pin and the Needle103; XVIL-The Shepherd's Dog and the W ... Read more

Product Description
John Rechy's new novel is a return to the themes and scenes of his classic, best-selling City of Night and a bittersweet memorial to a lost world -- gay Los Angeles in the moment before AIDS. It is 1981, a summer night, and an unscripted ritual is about to take place. Young, beautiful Jesse is celebrating one year on the dazzling gay scene and plans to lose himself completely in its transient pleasures. He is joined by Dave, a leatherman bent on testing limits. A young hustler, an opera lover lost in fantasies of youth, a gang of teenagers looking for trouble -- as the Santa Ana winds breathe fire down the hills of Los Angeles, stirring up desires and violence, these men circle ever closer to a confrontation as devastating as it is inevitable. Lyrical, humorous, and compassionate Coming of the Night proves again that as a novelist and chronicler of gay life John Rechy has no equal. "The question Rechy asks is still potent: Would you die for sex? Rechy's sizzling literary response Coming of Night is as exciting as it is chilling." -- Pamela Warrick, Los Angeles Times; "[Rechy] very nearly touches greatness . . . feeling his way toward that place within each of us where the ecstatic teeters on the edge of psychic abyss. . . . A substantial artist." -- Frank Browning, Salon. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (36)

Best of Breed
A suppose there are a few novels about the hustler scene in the days before AIDS and one good movie, My Own Private Idaho. But this if one the very few masterful books about it. And the others were written by Rechy too.

This book has a lot of characters and is almost like a number of short stories interwoven into one. But this doesn't detract from it.The other thing that is interesting about this book, like one of Rechy's other books, Rushes, is that everything takes place in the time period of one day.

This is a great book for anyone who is old enough to remember the scene but it could mean something for young gay people too.Rechy points out that the first gay rebellions were not in New York, but in LA. This book is a well written account of the period after the serious rebellions but before the devastation of the AIDS epidemic. Its also a page turner.

This is the John Rechy everyone talks about???
I've owned a copy of this book for years and never read it.Recently, it was mentioned in another book I was reading which said it was brilliant, so I decided to finally read it since John Rechy seems to be so popular.Boy, was I disappointed!

The Coming of the Night is several small stories losely tied together.However, most of the stories focus on sex and drugs and repeat themselves over and over again.The characters don't really go anywhere or do anything outside of driving around, walking the streets, or having sex, or thinking about and fantasizing about sex.The writing is so bad I couldn't believe what I was reading half the time.And it's also poorly edited.There are half page paragraphs that are all ONE sentence!

The characters are so fake and most of them are stereotypical cliches of the gay community, right down to a drag queen porn director.There's not a lot of substance and depth to them and like I said before, they constantly repeat themselves over and over again and the storylines don't really go anywhere.The characters don't achieve their goals, although I wasn't really sure what their goals were half the time.And when the storylines do finally start to cross, it's very brief and it's only so the characters can have sex with each other.There's really no true plot or theme to this book, and the places where Rechy has tried to embrace the 1980s culture before AIDS is very passive and fails.

I can't believe I actually made it all the way through this book.His first book, City of Night, seems to be much popular but I don't think it's something I'm going to rush out and read anytime soon after making it through this mess.I would not consider this book a classic piece of gay literature by all means.Compared to others I have read, this book is not even close.It's just mindless trash I think the author wrote while doing drugs himself.How sad!

Rechy's mosting disappointing and retch inducing novel
Open this book to any page and you'll be bombarded with one graphic, gratuitous, poorly written, laugh out loud sex scene after another (Oh yeah baby give it to me, that's it like that . . . seriously that's how inane the dialogue is).Don't get me wrong, I am a huge fan of Rechy's and some of his work is downright brilliant.I loved City of Night, This Day's Death, The Fourth Angel and especially Bodies and Souls.However, The Coming of the Night is a thinly vieled excuse for straight up porn.

I went into the novel excited, thinking Rechy would have something profound to express about gay life before "the coming of the night", a metaphor for the AIDS epidemic.Instead I was bombarded with episodic sexcapades of several loosely connected one dimensional characters. The sections involving Clint, haunted by and trying to escape from the mysterious "cancer" killing off his friends in New York; Orville, a handsome gay black male trying to get by in the predominantly white gay community and Thomas, a lonely single "old queen" who just wants to be loved were the only compelling and interesting characters to me.As an ardent supporter of AIDS awareness and a gay black male getting up there in age, these characters could have really got a message across.Instead they, and the rest of the novel, are squandered away under the weight of the grossly explicit sex scenes that appear on EVERY page.

Other characters were pointless.Za-Za LaGrand's sections (a thinly veiled reference to porn director Chi Chi LaRue) were utterly pointless and did nothing to further the plot along.Dave, the sado-masochist leather biker man and Ernie, the body builder with endowment issues were one dimensional characters I could care less about and Buzz, Boo and Fredo, the homophobe gay bashing punks were predictable and boring.

It's sad that this novel is so bad because it really had a lot of potential to get across some extremely powerful messages.Instead of focusing on the characters, fleshing them out so I could care for them, Rechy gets too wrapped up in the sex scenes, the majority of which are poorly written with some of the worst dirty talk dialogue I have ever read. Read this only if you've read every Jackie Collins novel and long for a dirtier gay version of what she does.Rechy must have wrote this for the money because it really stinks. PU.

Compelling, Dark, Haunting - A True Perspective of Gay 1981
Wow!This is one of the better books that I have picked up in quite some time.Becoming an adult in the mid 80's, immediately after the AIDS epidemic changed the way we live, it was quite obvious that things would never be the same as they had been.This book is a brilliant representation of perspective and fate -showing how in the course of a day, unconnected lives can interface and brief moments and decisions can alter one's future forever.This book touches on a myriad of personalities and help give the reader insight to behaviors that are fueled by insecurity, vanity, empowerment, domination, loneliness, anger, etc.It was raw, dark and clearly descriptive of urban gay life prior to the mid 80's.Despite its graphic and poignant sexual content, ANY reader will have to appreciate the way the author constructs and implements this story with seamless transitions and expertly developed characters.Keep an open mind and you will see a master author at his finest.

The Coming of the Night by John Rechy
Ok what was the point of this book? It was nothing more than a study of oversexed, kinky, S&M-obsessed perverts throughout the course of a windy day in Los Angeles. Rechy's overused symbol of the "Sant'Anas" was eventually annoying and his pervasive sexual language and scenarios had no artistic merit whatsoever and no purpose other than thoroughly grossing out this reader. Save your time and read a true gay masterpiece- "Dancer From the Dance"- instead. I regret picking this one up. ... Read more

Product Description
Detailing his ventures as a porn star, writer, playwright, andeditor of the popular but short-lived journal Steam, RarelyPure and Never Simple includes poems and stories by O'Hara thatexpress his opinions and feelings about monogamy, safe sex, malebeauty, morality, social politics, and "being queer." O'Hara alsorelates his childhood experiences to his adult life and uses manyexamples to link the past to his actions and thoughts concerning hissexuality. Bold, personal, and honest, Rarely Pure and NeverSimple gives you an inside look into the life of thiscontroversial author, who died in February 1998 of AIDS-relatedcomplications. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Great Book Scott..wish I'd met you..
I love this book so much,where to begin. First, Scott O'hara was an original.Just from his writing,which is the only way I have to know him,he was a multifaceted and complicated guy. His writing speaks volumes about his love for freedom,both freedom to do what he wanted, and freedom from the more repressive elements of gay culture.
As a libertarian, I appreciate Scott's ability to see things with his own unique gay libertarian-antiauthoritarian viewpoint.
I have been moved by his writings to embrace more risk taking,more loving,and more open expression of myself and sexuality as a result of reading this work.Isn't this what life is all about?
I do wish they had been able to cure his Non-Hodgkins lymphoma,my own mom has it.
Definitely a good read and a keeper.

The Last Words of Scott O'Hara
And witty, wise and wonderful words they are too. This has to be the most overlooked gay nonfiction title of the year. The cover and title aren't astitillating as the first volume of his memoirs,"Autopornography," but the writing's better. Scott shares with usthe story behind STEAM magzine, themessy messy inside dirt on"Making Porn" (the play and movie inspired by his own porn starcareer), and his thoughts on approaching death. Typical of Scott, though,it's anything but depressing or maudlin. A sexy, smart, funny andinimitably shocking read from a gay icon who is sorely missed. ... Read more

Product Description
Restoried Selves: Autobiographies of Queer Asian / Pacific American Activists presents the first-person accounts of 20 activists—life stories that work against common stereotypes, shattering misconceptions and dispelling misinformation. These autobiographies challenge familial and cultural expectations and values that have traditionally forced queer Asian / Pacific Americans into silent shame because of their sexual orientation and/or ethnicity. Authors share not only their experiences growing up but also how those experiences led them to become social activists, speaking out against oppression.

Many harmful untruths—or “stories”—about queer Asian-Pacific Americans have been repeated so often, they are accepted as fact. Restoried Selves: Autobiographies of Queer Asian / Pacific American Activists provides a forum for voices often ignored in academic literature to “re-story” themselves, addressing a range of experiences that includes cultural differences and values, conflicts between different generations in a family or between different groups in a community, and difficulties and rewards of coming out. Those giving voice to their stories through narrative and other writing genres include the transgendered and intersexed, community activists, youths, and parents.

The stories told in Restoried Selves: Autobiographies of Queer Asian / Pacific American Activists reflect on:

• personal experiences—based on country of origin, educational background, religion, gender, and age
• populations served by activism, including the working poor, immigrants, adoptees, youth, women, and families
• different arenas of activism, including schools, governments, social services, and the Internet
• issues targeted by activism, including affirmative action, HIV/AIDS education, mental health, interracial relationships, and sexual violence
• institutions in need of change, including legal, religious, and educational entities
• and much more!

Customer Reviews (3)

Come home to yourself, and to coalition with others
Restoried Selves:Autobiographies of Queer Asian/Pacific American Activists edited by Kevin R. Kumashiro is an anthology consisting of seventeen autobiographical essays by queer APA activists, this collection offers just a small sample of the experiences faced by individuals, as well as by queer APA communities.At just over 130 pages, the slimness of this text masks the richness of its content.

One of the most reoccurring and elusive themes in much of the queer APA literature I've read has to do with "home," specifically the search for home. By no means has there been any consensus about what "home" is, or that it even exists, or that it would be a good thing to find or be "at home."

Still, the pull of "home" has been one I have strongly felt over the years.At various times in my life thus far, I thought that I had found home in lovers, in family, in friends, in learning, in teaching...

What was most powerful, perhaps, was when I found home in myself.

By no means an easy task, or one that once accomplished doesn't continue to be an ongoing struggle, but certainly one that I've gotten the sweetest rewards from, even if only for short moments at a time.This book offers many such tales of just such a home coming.

The essays echoed my own experiences and feelings, and did a fabulous job of bringing much needed queer APA activist voices to the foreground.Not only did I feel in community with the authors, but it turns out that my life's path actually crossed, and continues to cross, with a good number of the authors' lives.It's a small world, indeed.

It's specifically in this context of community that I think revolutionary social change will happen.One of the things that the stories in Restoried Selves strongly instill is that we must recognize the ways in which we get in our own ways, succumbing to various internalized oppressions, so that we may be able to come to loving terms with ourselves, and then with one another.

While there are some stories in this anthology that are far from painting rosy pictures of queer API life experiences, there isn't one single essay that doesn't leave readers with hopefulness.In fact, I think the ultimate strength of Restoried Selves lies not in its embodiment of a vibrant queer APA activist community (as HUGE an asset that this is), but rather in the way it presents the challenges facing queer APA individuals and communities in order to offer insights and practical advice to ALL readers to work towards combating these challenges.In this way, this book isn't merely by queer APA activists, about queer APA activism, for queer APA activists, but for every person who wants to better understand what it means to work in coalition for broad social change.

I have nothing but the highest praises for Restoried Selves, and if you haven't already read it, go out, buy it, and read it, NOW!!!

A diverse and illuminating collection of voices
"Restoried Selves: Autobiographies of Queer Asian/Pacific American Activists," edited by Kevin K. Kumashiro, is an anthology with a very tight focus (as indicated by the title).The bulk of the book consists of 17 autobiographical pieces written by different activists.In addition, the book contains a foreword, a preface, an afterword, an index, and capsule biographies of the contributors.

The entire book runs 137 plus xxvii pages long.The longest of the biographies is 13 pages, and most are under 10 pages long.While focused on a particular group of people, the book celebrates a tremendous diversity within that group.Many voices are heard: lesbian, gay male, bisexual (male and female), transgender and intersex.Ethnic experiences represented include Nepali, Filipino, Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese, and more, including individuals who identify as bi- or multiethnic.

The stories in this book also take the reader across a vast portion of the United States: to Hawai'i; Long Island, New York; Silicon Valley, California; Connecticut; Decatur, Illinois; San Francisco; Detroit; and elsewhere.Certain recurring themes unify the collection as a whole: the "coming out" experience; the impact of pop culture upon the authors' lives; family relations; religion; dealing with multiple/overlapping identities; and the importance of joining or founding support organizations.

I'd like to mention a few selections that I found particularly memorable."Curry Potatoes and Rainbow Banners," by Nur-e-alam S. Chisty, includes a compelling account of elementary school racism."You're a What?An Activist??"by Alain Anh-Tuan Dang, recalls the author's fight against abusive Vietnamese sweatshops.In "South of Normal," Loren R. Javier writes movingly about growing up with Klinefelter's syndrome, a chromosomal condition."Queerly a Good Friday" is by Jeanette Mei Gim Lee, a clergy candidate in a gay-friendly denomination; she writes about her approach to the Bible, which is informed by liberation theology and her own "queer-of-color experience."

My only real disappointment with the book relates to the very short lengths of most of the chapters.At times I wished that the authors (particularly Javier and Mei Gim Lee) could have gone into their fascinating topics in greater depth.But overall I really enjoyed the book.Angry and hopeful, intriguing and inspiring, this anthology is suitable both for academic courses and for general readers.

BLTG Asian-Am Activists Speak OUT (pun intended)
While reading this anthology, I kept being reminded of Cheryl Dunye's film "Watermelon Woman."At the end, she proclaims, "I am a black lesbian filmmaker."I can understand struggling to make peace with one's racial and sexual identities.But is identifying as a filmmaker an equally difficult struggle!?Well, in this book, non-straight Asian-Americans do not just speak about themselves, but they purposely dissect their political activism.In this book, activism is given as much weight as race or sexual orientation.

Activism here takes several forms.Be it promoting gay marriage in Hawaii, fighting xenophobia in a church setting, or coming out to one's Asian American studies students; the range is broad.Activists of all kinds of identities will relate to this.Further, straight Asian-Americans will see how they face some of the same struggles and this book may go far in promoting pan-sexual unity in Asian America.

The best article was by Pauline Park.She relates how as a transgender Korean adoptee, almost no organization accepts her in her wholeness.Still, this hasn't stopped her from accomplishing a lot in New York.Every reader will be blown away by all that she has done.The worst article came from David Lee.His piece says almost nothing about being activist.Though he critiques privileging white men over Asian man, you can tell he isn't taking his message seriously.I don't even know why Kumashiro put his piece in the book.I am quite sure other submissions had to have been better than this terrible contribution.

I doubt most Americans ever think about non-straight Asian Americans at all.However, if they do, they probably think first about monoracial, monosexual, gay-identified, male-born men.Kumashiro obviously wanted to have new centers.Most of the contributions are by women and their pieces are far stronger than those of the men.There are many works by biracial people and bisexuals, including Kumashiro coming out as bisexual.Not only is this a trans-inclusive work, but many contributors trouble gender binaries by hardly mentioning their gender at all.There is a great piece by a man who has Klinefelter's syndrome; this is fascinating as many activists want to use the phrase "LGBTI" to include intersexuals.Southeast Asians are often called "the forgotten Asians" and this book has a respectable amount of contributions from them.Still, this book is lacking in strong works by non-straight Polynesians.One Chicana-Samoan lesbian talks more about Chicanos and hardly about Samoans in her work.Another man talks about Native Hawaiian issues; however, he is not Native and the lack of mentioning what his race is makes me think he might be completely white, thus defeating the purpose of the book.When gay Pacific Islanders like Greg Louganis, Benjamin Cruz, or Esera Tuaolo are making press, this paucity is quite surprising and disappointing.

This book is for everyday readers.There are no footnotes or postmodern jargon.Readers will have a much easier time with this book than they may have with "Q&A" or "Racial Castration," previously released gay Asian-American books.The selections are arranged in alphabetical order.Because I think the purpose of the book is to get more straight Asian-Americans to embrace sexual minorities, I'm completely shocked that the work "queer" is thrown around so often and without question here.Many readers will be turned off and I don't know why the editor didn't think more about this. ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
Aging is stressful for anyone in youth-oriented Western societies. Elderly people encounter difficulties and discrimination, sometimes because of reduced income, transportation and housing problems, and failing health, but often due to the persistent negative stereotypes that color others’attitudes and behavior toward old people. Gay men and lesbians experience these stresses, as well as the numerous additional problems associated with their sexual orientation.

Gay Midlife and Maturity is a dynamic and positive volume that challenges the long-held stereotype of the sad and lonely old homosexual. A growing body of international literature, much of which is featured in this book, rejects this myth and illustrates that older gay men and lesbians cope well with the aging process and are comparable to younger homosexuals in social and psychological adjustment.

A much-needed and major contribution, Gay Midlife and Maturity contains an enormous amount of information for readers interested in gerontology and homosexuality. Experts, for the first time, examine the relationship between the adjustment of gay people to later life and the age and sequence of the resolution of these typically early developmental processes, raising many questions about traditional theories of gay development. The existing contradictions and debates about gay men and accelerated aging are addressed. Other valuable chapters focus on a theory of successful aging, a comparison of the traditional gay community (pre-Stonewall) versus the organized gay community, the vital role of communication in gay relationships, the sexual attitudes and behaviors of older gay men, and much more.

Additional interesting and worthwhile chapters of this thought-provoking new book include an in-depth interview with Don Bachardy about his 33-year relationship Christopher Isherwood, a renowned English writer who was 30 years his senior, and a review of the growing literature on gay aging. ... Read more

Product Description
John Gay was one of the most respected photographers of the mid-20th century but, unlike that of some of his contemporaries, his work is now largely overlooked. This important book, which includes 300 evocative photographs from the large collection of his work held by the National Monuments Record, marks the centenary of his birth in Karlsruhe, Germany, in 1909 and coincides with two major exhibitions of his work being held in London. Gay's work is wide-ranging yet returns to a number of key themes - animals and children, informal shots of ordinary people, rural life, modern architecture, and London, especially his beloved Highgate and Hampstead, and characteristically uses light and shade to great effect. The insignificant object held a strong fascination for him and his gift for being unobtrusive imbues many of his images with a unique poignancy. ... Read more

Product Description
John Gustav-Wrathall is a gay man who has been in a committed relationship with his same-sex partner for nearly two decades, who also, thirteen years into their relationship, realized he was still a believing Latter-day Saint. While many would insist that he choose between his husband or his Church, Gustav-Wrathall has written, "I could not reject either and remain a person of integrity. I could not be disloyal to either and not feel that at some level I was betraying both myself and God." This collection of essays originally published in Sunstone, Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, and The Mormon Worker; papers presented at the Salt Lake Sunstone Symposium; sermons; and reflections posted on the "Young Stranger" blog chart Gustav-Wrathall's efforts to find a middle path between two communities increasingly at odds — the gay community and the Mormon Church. In them, he describes how he has found peace in God, and reflects on his testimony, the scriptures, faith, love, family, integrity, balance, wholeness, and the tumultuous events surrounding the Proposition 8 campaign in California. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Strong Personal Stories
Being human and engaging life through a sincere, personal journey is always difficult. This collection of essays illustrates how challenging, yet rich, such a journey can be. John leads the reader through his _his_ journey as he opens up, disects and analyses each step. Many of us would like to take the time and/or have the courage to this, but it is always easier to say that or think about it than it is to do it. The book is also well articulated with hypertext links to make it easy for the reader to move from section to section and to the contents page ... better than reading an old physical book ... Il Matto ... ... Read more

Product Description
After years of conducting therapy sessions for gay men in Minneapolis and Texas, Driggs and Finn have concluded that difficulty with intimacy is the gay man's major obstacle to forming permanent relationships. Here they offer wise, supportive advice to help build lasting love. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Doesn't really shine....
Found this book to be a little bit annoying like most self-help books.The main message is that if you want intimacy you have to communicate your feelings with integrity.Say No when it's no and say yes when it's yes. That was the good part. There was also a lot of promoting psychotherapy including a whole chapter on having an intimate (non-sexual) relationship with your therapist.So, if you're into therapy then it's a good book if not, then just try to express yourself honestly and develop intimacy that way.

Excellent guide directed specifically to gay men.
The authors cover a myriad of issues faced by gay men without clouding it with lesbian issues.This may be the best book written to help gay men understand why it is so difficult for us to achieve and maintain healthy,intimate relationships.Five stars.

Great if you have found him, otherwise good
This book was really good reading. I found that once I started it was hardto put it down. I took it most everywhere that I went. It gives some solidadvice that friends cannot give. It goes great if you have regular sessionswith a counsellor.

Very helpful and insightful
One of the most thoughtful gay books I have ever read. Essential reading for anyone in or looking for a gay relationship. I learned a lot about myself and gay relationships from this book. Not to be missed! ... Read more