Editorial Review

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Reviews (18)

Reviewers Trash Classic!!!
Who is Kerry Fried, and why is s/he reviewing this classic? I read this book several years ago. As a story of a female shepherd and her owner, it is brutally honest, to the detail. Ackerley as a dog person, seems so indulgent and feeble. While reading, one must be mindful that the events took place in the 40's and in Briton. Perhaps he never had a dog before, and knew no better. Pups, off leash adventures, pooping issues. As subject matter, who but another shepherd lover would care. Who but a post modern dog lover would be appalled at the old fashioned beliefs and attitudes. But, and this is critical, but, the language is beautiful, the sentiment expressed is pure. And the final chapter, and final paragraph, are exquisite. I feel the passing of her life from his own, his long life stretching out so far beyond her sweet existence within it. I love my dog Olk as dearly, and dread his eventual loss. Superb form, distressing content.
Being a dog lover but not a dog owner who believes that it is cruel to keep most dogs in an urban environment, and especially a large dog in a flat as the author did, I found this memoir not to be my cup of tea.Humans are portrayed in it as curious, rather unsympathetic creatures, whilst the dog at the center of his love, is romanticised despite the loving detail with which the author describes the bodily functions of the animal.I can understand though, its appeal to those with an obsession with their dog who find humans too argumentative, contrary or difficult.An instance of "horses for courses" so to speak.

A Real Dog of a Book ... and Not in a Good Way
If you want to be immersed in a definitely 1960's I'm-obsessed-with-Freud take on dog ownership from someone who should never have been allowed to own a dog ... if you're dying to discover in ad nauseum detail the fecal and urinary habits of an animal whose owner lacks the least understanding of training a dog ...if you yearn for all the details of the miseries this animal goes through whenever she's in heat, this is the book for you.Read more

Subjects:  1. (Joe Randolph),    2. 1896-1967    3. 20th century    4. Ackerley, J. R    5. Anecdotes    6. Authors, English    7. Biography    8. Biography / Autobiography    9. Biography/Autobiography    10. Dog owners    11. Gay Studies    12. General    13. German shepherd dog    14. Great Britain   

Reviews (1)

Essential Reading for the Human Community
The subtitle for this amazing and long overdue anthology is "True Tales of Sex & Gender Diversity", which pretty well sums up what the book is about. There have been many anthologies published over the years that deal with a range of different issues, but Finding the Real Me is the first volume to tackle the complexities of gender diversity.Read more

Subjects:  1. Alternative Sexual Behavior    2. Biography    3. Gender Psychology    4. Gender Studies    5. Gender identity    6. Human Sexuality    7. Identity    8. Psychology    9. Social Science    10. Sociology    11. Sociology - General    12. Transsexualism    13. Transsexuals    14. Popular psychology    15. Psychology & Psychiatry / Human Sexuality    16. Sex & sexuality    17. Sexual behaviour   

Reviews (2)

Excellent biography that goes far below the surface
The author of Going to Heaven is a life-long Episcopalian who is part of the Diocese of New Hampshire, so she is able to offer a lot of additional details about the process of electing Gene in this fascinating book. But what I loved most about the book is that it's not a salacious account of some flash-in-the-pan controversy; instead, it's the spiritual biography of a thought-provoking, deeply prayerful bishop.
Gene Robinson and the Power of Love
As soon as I finished reading Elizabeth Adams' biography, Going to Heaven:The Life and Election of Bishop Gene Robinson, I gave thanks.As a lifelong supporter of human rights, a clergy wife and committed Episcopalian, I was grateful that the biography taught me so much.It taught me more about Bishop Robinson, the man, than all of the news coverage, feature articles and specials that have swirled into the popular press since the announcement of his election. It taught me about Gene Robinson, the gay man, and all that that meant for this individual.It taught me about Gene Robinson, the reluctant poster child for gay rights, and the history of the gay rights movement in the states and in the world.It taught me about Gene Robinson, the committed clergyman, and the inner workings of the church I call mine.I gave thanks, believing that Adams wrote the book with people like me in mind.
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Subjects:  1. 1947-    2. Biography    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Biography And Autobiography    6. Biography/Autobiography    7. Christianity - Episcopalianism    8. Clergy    9. Episcopal Church    10. Episcopal Churches    11. Gay Studies    12. Gay clergy    13. New Hampshire    14. Religious    15. Robinson, V. Gene,    16. Anglican & Episcopalian Churches    17. Biography & Autobiography / Religious    18. Biography: general   

Editorial Review

It has only been since the mid-1970s that any attention has been paid to the persecution and interment of gay men by the Nazis during the Third Reich. Since that time, books such as Richard Plant's Read more

Reviews (15)

Couldn't put it down!!!
Such a good book. It gives a different perspective on the Holocaust. It's a page turner...I couldn't put it down once I got past the first few pages. Everyone one should read!

A Moving and Powerful True Account of Survival
A sodomy law had been on the German law books since 1871, a law known simply as Paragraph 175.Only a few people were ever sentenced under this obscure law until June of 1935 when, after the rise of Hitler and Nazism, the Nuremberg laws were enacted and the consequences of Paragraph 175 strengthened.Where once before, you had to be caught in the act of same sex relations, now simply receiving a letter or the spreading of idle gossip would have you sent to a concentration camp. One Man's Story
Although short, this man's story could have benefitted from some thoughtful editing.Powerfully recounting his persecution at the hands of the Nazi regime, a full picture could have been painted had the author continued to tell its affects on the rest of his life AFTER World War II.An important book, no doubt, and definitely to be included in any Holocaust library. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Concentration camps    3. Europe - Germany    4. Gay Studies    5. Gay men    6. General    7. Germany    8. History    9. History - General History    10. History: World    11. Homosexuality    12. Homosexuality, Male    13. Jewish Holocaust Personal Narratives    14. Military - World War II    15. History / General   

Reviews (10)

Interesting personal perspective
This is a most interesting, personal account of "how", "what", and some "why" a person has become what he is in the moment. The perspective is intensely genuine, as much as the author is capable. I found this a fascinating view into the life of a physical, although necessarily remote, personality and his attempts to deal with his own evolution. It seems that many of the other reviews(printed here) have approached the writing from their OWN perspective. I do not feel that that is valid and appreciate Mr. Shaw's revelations and insight into a whole world that is both limited and international. How delightful to find that these fantasy figures are also real people and have distinct and impressive talents beyond what most perceive as their "genre". Thank you Mr. Shaw.

Missing Core
This book starts out in a fast and exciting pace, but halfway through one begins to wonder "where is it all going?" Aiden Shaw tells an incredible narrative in a comprehensive, easy to read, subtlety poetic form.However, it's void of any and all emotion.Even in scenes of breakdown or crying, all the reader is offered is the notion he was crying but in no way do we know how he was feeling, other than obviously sad.I thought by reading this I would get an exclusive look inside the life of a porn star and hustler, gain a perspective and a respect for a niche of men whose lifestyles aren't something I would approve or emulate. But all I really got was a tremendous list of what the author had done, disastrously, from point A to B to C.In the end, I'm glad to have read this book as it gives the feeling of being let in on a secret.However, the secret isn't all together too interesting and lacks that personal edge in which I was hoping to find.

The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
The person who wrote the main Amazon review clearly misunderstood Shaw. I hate to think they might influence other people, especially if they turn young readers away. Those inexperienced in Shaw's world can learn a lot from his brave portrayal of how not to live life. He does this not by preaching, but in a much more clever way, Shaw shows from the inside, the pit falls, the drug come-downs, and the ruined relationships that can coincide with the lifestyle he chose. My Undoing is refreshing, heartbreakingly honest, sincere, very funny, and most of all very well written. He puts himself on the line, while most prefer to hide behind pretense and propriety. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Entertainment & Performing Arts - Actors & Actresses    5. Gay Studies    6. Homosexuality    7. Personal Memoirs    8. Pornography    9. Specific Groups - Male Gay Studies    10. Biography & Autobiography / Entertainment & Performing Arts    11. Biography: general   

Editorial Review

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Reviews (27)

How many of us have the same story?
I could have written this book but I didn't. It's taken me nearly 60 years to do what Andrew Tobias did in his 20s. How many "best little boys" are out there somewhere? The personal telling of his story - with delving soul-searching analysis and a great geal of humor - makes this a necessity for anyone who has lived a secret life and learned the accepted norms of society in the days when there were no real choices.

Outdated and Overhyped
I bought this book because I thought I'd relate with the author's choice of the title "The Best Little Boy in the World".It took me less than fifty pages to realize that this was one of the worst books I've ever read.I can imagine that this book probably made a lot of difference when it was written, but today, I like to think we've progressed beyond the self-loathing, hatred of our own nature, and belittling of anyone that isn't like us to make this book less relevant for today.If I was recommending a book to a teenager to help them with their coming out process, I definitely would not recommend this book.I mean, come on, coming out is traumatic enough as it is, why would I want to make it worse by suggesting they read a book that will only put them down and make them feel worse about themselves?

Self-loathing and superior
The other readers pegged it nicely: this book is self-loathing and superior. I read this when I was fourteen and, fourteen years later, found myself rereading it when I cleaned out my closet. I can't believe the arrogance and myopia of its WASP narrator. This book is internalized homophobia coupled with upper middle class snobbery at its worst. No doubt if the author was born in Nazi Germany sixty years ago, he would be Hitler's right hand man in his pink triangle quest to oppress homosexuals, or at least, those too limp wristed and "icky" for Andrew Tobias' liking. I'm aghast other readers are recommending his book for those coming out of the closet. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1947-    2. Biography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Gay Studies    5. Gay men    6. Gay/Lesbian Nonfiction    7. Parenting - General    8. Reid, John,    9. Social Science    10. Specific Groups - Male Gay Studies    11. United States    12. Family & Relationships / Parenting    13. Fiction    14. Reid, John   

Editorial Review

Stephen Fry is not making this up! Fry started out as a dishonorable schoolboy inclined to lies, pranks, bringing decaying moles to school as a science exhibit, theft, suicide attempts, the illicit pursuit of candy and lads, a genius for mischief, and a neurotic life of crime that sent him straight to Pucklechurch Prison and Cambridge University, where he vaulted to fame along with actress Emma Thompson. He wound up starring as Oscar Wilde in the film Read more

Reviews (46)

Like Wodehouse?You'll Like This.
Fry is a Wodehouse-worshipper, and his elegant prose shows it.This discursive, digressive, sometimes profane and endlessly entertaining bio covers Fry's youth (with much reminiscing about Public School days in the manner of Wodehouse's Psmith) and the development of his areligious (anti-religious?) and homosexual tendencies... well, they're more than tendencies, really, as you'll see.
not bad, but . . .
Most of this autobiography was quite enjoyable. Stephen Fry is clearly a gifted writer, and based on this book I might try some of his fiction. However, a great deal of the middle of this book, say 100 pages or more, are devoted to his explaining and defending and preaching on his homosexuality. The picture of Dorian Fry
...Everything about this "autobiography" is constructed, fake and banal. This book is basically an endless enumeration of boyhood traumas, mostly related to Fry's homosexuality. We read uninspired, mandatory descriptions on how lucky he is with his parents and how he caused them so much pain. But most pages are devoted to anecdotes illustrating what a witty and tormented genius he actually is. Read more

Subjects:  1. 1957-    2. 20th century    3. Actors    4. Biography    5. Biography & Autobiography    6. Biography / Autobiography    7. Biography/Autobiography    8. Childhood Memoir    9. Childhood and youth    10. Comedians    11. Entertainment & Performing Arts - General    12. Fry, Stephen,    13. Great Britain    14. Literary    15. Novelists, English    16. Specific Groups - Male Gay Studies    17. Fiction / General    18. Fry, Stephen   

Reviews (6)

Uneven Tales
Like the literary conceit on which the book is based, My Lives is all over the place both in the quality of its writing and in the quality of its insights. For long streches I felt almost resentful at White's rambling discourses on the females, friends, and foes in his life--alleviated by occasional flashes of almost lyrical beauty (such as his description of the Ile St. Louis in winter) and sociological insight. Much of the time I felt robbed at having paid for the book rather than being paid for what seemed like asynchronous therapy sessions like which my dispersed hours with the book seemed to feel.
A Brilliant Memoir

Disarming frankness of a gay life spanning Stonewall
How many well-known gay people are there who are "out" and whose adult lives span Stonewall -- a Democratic Party politician? an English singer?For a thoughtful interesting life story who is left but Lily Tomlin, Larry Kessler, Ian McKellen, Rosie O'Donnell and writers like White, Felice Picano, Paul Monette, Stephen MacCauley, Rita Mae Brown and Tony Kushner (not that they've all written memoirs, and there are certainly other major personalities who don't come to mind at the moment).In terms of its simple beauty, Monette's On Becoming A Man is one of a kind.For sheer joie de vivre, Picano's "memoir in the form of a novel" Men Who Loved Me, would be hard to top.But for refreshing honesty and frankness about an indulgent gay sex life, White's My Lives is in a league of its own.
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Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Biographers    3. Biography    4. Biography & Autobiography    5. Biography / Autobiography    6. Biography/Autobiography    7. Gay Studies    8. Gay men    9. General    10. Literary    11. Novelists, American    12. Specific Groups - Male Gay Studies    13. United States    14. White, Edmund - Prose & Criticism    15. Biography & Autobiography / General   

Reviews (15)

A struggle to read
The format of this book makes it real hard to read and detracts greatly from the content. Your eyes have to dart from one side of a page to the other and back again then to the middle.The content is important but on the edge of the spectrum which makes it even more difficult to read at times with the far fetched concepts. I'm not a big fan of this one.

Genderific Food For Thought
A decade ago Al Bornstein underwent genital reconstruction surgery to become Kate Bornstein and soon fell in love with a lesbian who recently had female-to-male surgery.Kate Bornstein's very existence is a defiance of gender labels so it's no wonder it should be the topic of her first book.
Fun and well written
We as a society need to be more sensitive with gender! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1948-    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Bornstein, Kate,    5. Gender Studies    6. Gender identity    7. General    8. Identity    9. Psychology    10. Sex change    11. Sociology    12. Transsexuals    13. Bornstein, Kate    14. Social Science / Gender Studies   

Reviews (37)

Very funny!
A great book to read if you need a few laughs in your life. Dave White's Texan perspective of L.A. is spot-on and absolutely hilarious. There's even a tale of relationships and friendships woven into all the laughter. A great read if you like biting wit. And if you need a gay-themed book for someone, don't hesitate to put this on your list.

I laughed...I cried...
OK, maybe I didn't cry, but I definitely laughed.I became familiar with Dave White's writing via msnbc.com.Every time I found myself chuckling at an article I'd notice it was written by him.That eventually led me to his blog and then to his book which I thorougly enjoyed.He has a way of pulling you into his neurotic thoughts and then showing you the genunine humor he finds in every one of them.I also enjoyed the fact that yes, he is gay, but he doesn't wave it like a flag.It's not used to prop up the ideas conveyed in this book.He communicates thoughts that are relative to anyone; gay, straight or purple.He portrays his relationship as something sweet, touching and enviable.I found myself identifiying with many of his hilarious psychotic episodes as his stories of surviving the very difficult task of being thrust into a completely different environment unfolded.What's even WAY cooler is that now that I've bought this book from Amazon.com they keep recommending this DVD called, "Puppetry of the Penis: The Ancient Art of Genital Origami".Awesome.
Before you say, "..oh god, not another GWM memoir..."
Really, give Dave White a chance.Yeah, he comes of as bitchy, stuck up, elitist, philistinic, and oh-so-smug-with-his-world.But he has good writing chops, and it shows.For one thing, he's not a walking, talking gay stereotype.He's folically challenged. Fat. Lazy. Mooching off his ever so supportive spouse, morocco mole.I was beginning to think when I read the book if he ever was going to get off the pity pot regarding his disdain for all things Los Angeles, and hey, I HATE L.A., TOO!!! but, I guess that's the point. Most things that come across his radar are subject for scorn and pitched carelessly upon the junk heap of things he no longer has a use for.Does this have anything to do with the review?Yes, and No.Thank your lucky stars that his spouse had the insight to persuade this redneck twanger out of the swamp cooler, double wide world of trailer park texas into West Hollywood and to have the material to write this book.Dave White has a unique perspective on life, and I am looking forward to more of his shiny happy rants.(yes, Mr. White; whether you like it or not, you are one of the shiny happy poseurs that make up the bulk (no pun intended) of West Hollywood.Now that you have my thirteen dollars, go buy some BBQ.I could have said "love it", but I wanted to diss on Mr. White, being that I'll never meet him.Kiss Morocco mole for me.Anywhere you like.
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Subjects:  1. Biography / Autobiography    2. Gay Studies    3. Personal Memoirs    4. Social Science    5. Sociology    6. Specific Groups - Male Gay Studies    7. Biography: general    8. Gay & Lesbian studies    9. Social Science / Gay Studies   

Editorial Review

She's not in Kansas anymore! Melissa Etheridge, the gutsy Midwest girl who grew up to be the heartland's gift to rock & roll (and a major gay spokeswoman) tells all in her memoir, Read more

Reviews (116)

If you love Melissa ....
This book was fabulous - it's hard to put it down !!If you love Melissa, you have to read this book right away ... you really get a whole new perspective of what her music is all about.Since the book ended, Melissa could write (and SHOULD) write another on her new relationship, new babies and her cancer story.

Small Town In Big Boots
This book will leave you in awe after you read it from the pictures alone. Smalltown with big boots is this biography of Melissa Etheridge. Cold, hard truths tangled through the pages. Laughing and hurting with her ... common grounds spoke about ... she's real, true and strong.
Inspiring
Intimate, honest, and inspiring.You can feel every bit of passion she has for life and for her music when you read this book.By the end you realize she is just like everyone else, seeking out love and success.You'll appreciate her music so much more after reading this book.She explains the reasons behind writing some specific songs and you can tell that everything she writes (lyrics and music)is truly about the emotions and struggles of her life.This book will really push you to just be true to who are and inspire you to seek out your own passion. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Composers & Musicians - General    6. Composers & Musicians - Rock    7. Lesbian musicians    8. Rock musicians    9. Specific Groups - Lesbians    10. United States    11. Women    12. Women rock musicians    13. Biography & Autobiography / Composers & Musicians    14. Biography: film, television & music    15. Rock & pop   

Editorial Review

In the sixties, David Mixner became an activist in the civil rights and anti-war movements, then emerged in the seventies as an influential Washington insider. Unknown to his comrades, he was also a closet homosexual, so scared of exposure he let hardly anyone know his secret. With good reason: when he came out in 1977 he lost a lot of his political clout. Undeterred he marched on a new crusade--gay liberation. He returned to national prominence as a political activist when he led a hugely successful drive in the gay community to elect his long-time friend Bill Clinton. That relationship, which has been bittersweet through Clinton's presidency, is one of the fascinating sidelights in this memoir of a radical life. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Fascinating
In this day of the modern Gay Rights Movement, no biography captures the true story of someone moderately simple, becoming the voice of a fantastic mission with true, heartfelt passion for the equality of gays and lesbians.Full of pathos, life lessons, screw-ups, ironies and inspiration that truly reflects the dichotomy of living as an evolving gay man during the sexual revolution, Reagan-Era AIDS, and the Clinton Era of Inclusion against the backdrop of a hidden sex life.I was glad to know this story!

I really enjoyed and would reccomend this book
I must say, this was one of the best books I've read in a while. It was just fascinating. It starts out describing David's childhood, goes onto his time in college, his antiwar activism, his many struggles with his homosexuality, finally with his coming out and becoming a gay activist, and then to his time spent working on the Clinton campaign all the way up to Clinton's innaguration. It's a very readable book, it draws you in from the first few pages and really keeps you wanting to know what will happen next in David's very exciting activist life. Another thing that kept me reading was I was dying to find out when he would finally come out. It is easy to relate to David's pain and I was inspired to see what he did with that pain and to read about the many remarkable things he has done with this life. I finished this book in a little over a week and wished there was more. I loved learning more about the political and activist worlds while at the same time learning about him. If you have any interest in politics, activism, AIDS, or gay and lesbian issues, or just like a good memoir, read this book. You'll like it :)

good book kinda of long
it was a good book for the most part but it kinda of ran on and on i still have a copy of it around some where ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Gay activists    5. Gay rights    6. Mixner, David B    7. Political    8. Political Freedom & Security - Civil Rights    9. Political Science    10. Presidents    11. Sociology - General    12. Specific Groups - Male Gay Studies    13. Staff    14. United States    15. Biography & Autobiography / Political   

Reviews (2)

A poignant memoir, although ultimately sad.
I like Stephen Spender.That is, of course, I like his poetry that I've read as well as his introduction to my favorite novel:Malcolm Lowry's Under The Volcano.I like this book too.But, first of all, there's altogether too much name-dropping, which becomes rather tedious at times.Some of the anecdotes are quite rum, like the ones involving Lady Ottoline Morrel.But all this Bloomsbury-Virginia Woolf business gets on one's nerves (well, mine anyway) after a while.I don't think Spender's homosexual relationship is the most important thing in the book; though it was doubtless courageous of Spender to include it as well as indispensable to getting this book back in print!The most important thing in the book is the difference in the pre- versus post- Spanish Civil War mindset among sensitive, well-bred intelllectuals among whom Spender was a figure.Before the war, Spender says, it seemed that individuals (particularly idealists) could make a difference.After the war, all that had not been killed fighting Franco (and there were many) were disillusioned and glum, especially Spender.Finally, this book has a sad tone that runs from Spender's school days to his middle age.He was a cultured, gifted writer who had not, by his middle ages, produced a "great work."And, despite the Queen's Gold Medal and Knighthood in later years, his melancholy grew worse.He speaks of himself at the end of the book as "rotted by a modicum of success" and admits that "My mistake was to think that my own nature would make everything easy."-The strange thing is that he didn't shake this attitude off.He was only halfway through his life.I was going to make put forth some hypotheses as to why, but, really, it's anybody's guess. Isn't it?

Excellent Memoir
Memoirs have become ubiquitous recently, a favored literary form. World Within World is one of the best. Stephen Spender, one of England's leading twentieth century poets and literary figures wrote this book less than half way into his long life, covering his youth and early middle age through World War Two.While this book became notorious a few years back as the source of a lawsuit for plagiarism brought by Spender against David Leavitt over his book While England Sleeps, the book has merit far beyond the controversy. The incident which forms the basis of the dispute, Spender's rescue efforts on behalf of a former lover during the Spanish Civil War, is merely one of the interesting and illuminating episodes and set pieces of this book.Spender, growing up in the wake of World War One, in a well-connected family, encountered some of the leading literary figures of the Twentieth Century. He was a contemporary and friend of W. H. Auden, Christopher Isherwood and Cyril Connolly, whom he incisively sketches and analyzes, both in terms of personality and work. He was taken under the wings of such giants as Virginia Woolf and T.S. Eliot, who form the basis of two fascinating portraits. Most memorable perhaps is his description of a meeting with William Butler Yeats at Lady Ottoline Morrill's salon that started out quite disastrously but was rescued by Lady Ottoline's desperate telephone call to Woolf. Not only does he describe the literary scene in England, but also the atmosphere of Weimar Germany, Civil War Republican Spain and World War Two England. Indeed we get a glimpse of the Berlin boarding house immortalized by Isherwood and later in Cabaret.As memorable as he is in describing others, Spender is balanced, acute and unsparing in his self-analysis. Aware of the characteristics of his work that distinguishes it from that of others, he gives insight into his creative methods and process, rescuing poetry from misty philosophizing and dogmatic pronouncements. There is little self-aggrandizement or puffery and very little malice if any in this book. Its style is clear and its content admirable. It is well worth reading. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1909-    2. 20th century    3. Biography    4. Biography & Autobiography    5. Biography / Autobiography    6. Biography/Autobiography    7. Critics    8. Great Britain    9. Literary    10. Poets, English    11. Specific Groups - Male Gay Studies    12. Spender, Stephen - Poems & Criticism    13. Spender, Stephen,    14. Biography & Autobiography / Literary    15. Biography: general    16. English    17. Literature: History & Criticism    18. Spender, Stephen    19. Works by individual poets: from c 1900 -   

Reviews (2)

The Life of Gay Men in Israel Sucks
This book presents a series of interviews conducted in the early 1990's with twelve self-identified gay Israeli men.These men are from a variety of backgrounds, social classes, and ethnicities.They are purported by Fink and Press to represent a broad selection of gay men in Israel.In fact, the majority of them are in their early to mid-twenties, Ashkenazi, single and non-religious.Two are immigrants.Two are married to women.One is a Christian Arab.Most of them are closeted. revealing, entertaining, and thought provoking!
I have read the draft of this book, and it is undoubtedly one of the most revealing, enlightening and entertaining writings on modern gay life in Israel. A must not only for readers interested in gay culture, but foranyone who wants to know more about young people - gay or straight - inmodern Israel. The book comprises of a tapestry of interviews, whosetranslation artfully captures all layers of spoken Hebrew. These arecomplemented by the authors comments and shrewd observations, making it anaccurate and up-to-date survey of modern Israel. Enthusiasticallyrecommended! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Gay Studies    3. Gay men    4. Gender Studies    5. Israel    6. Judaism - General    7. Social Science    8. Sociology    9. Sociology - Urban    10. Gay studies (Gay men)   

Reviews (2)

Engaging: You Will Finish This Gripping Memoir Quicker than You Received It
Years ago Rigoberto Gonzalez did a reading at the University of California, Riverside, his alma mater and the approximate locale where he met the "older lover" who abused him. Someone in the audience asked him why he felt he could write a memoir so young? Rigoberto, then in his early thirties, answered, "Because I write about another time that is no longer my life."
Memoir travels maze of sex, family and self-acceptance
What makes a writer?
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Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Authors, American    3. Biography    4. Ethnic Issues    5. Ethnic Studies - Hispanic American Studies    6. Gay Studies    7. Hispanic American gays    8. People of Color    9. Personal Memoirs    10. Social Science    11. Sociology    12. Biography: general    13. Gay studies (Gay men)    14. New Mexico    15. Social Science / Ethnic Studies / Hispanic American Studies   

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Reviews (20)

Hopeful, uplifting, and energizing!
First let me say that Dan Savage's book "The Commitment" should be required reading for anyone working for marriage equality for same sex couples. I think those of us who feel so strongly about this issue get too caught up in trying to "convince" the other side that we are worthy of marriage. Rather than get mired in all that, Dan Savage just tells it like it is, calmly and logically pointing out the numerous large holes in every ridiculous argument our opponents make (to me the most ludicrous of which is that marriage is about the having and raising of children). In Dan's words, "Some people in love decide to have children, some don't, but either way society benefits when two people in love make a formal commitment to car