Reviews (3)

Frustratingly Good
Cleopatra's Wedding Present is an account of the solitary wandering of a Briton through the back roads and alleyways of Syria. What draws this urbane, openly gay man to a country like Syria is a question that draws the reader immediately into the book. Fittingly, Moss begins his book not in Damascus, but in culturally and geographically isolated northern city of Aleppo. He makes his way through a maze of noisy, cluttered streets to the Baron Hotel, an establishment of fading glory, where notables such as Lawrence of Arabia and Theodore Roosevelt once stayed. In the hotel bar, he quickly meets a fellow Briton, Rupert, and becomes entangled with the comings and goings, and affections, of a few young Syrian men. Through Rupert, like himself, an outsider, a loner, and also attracted to Syrian men, Moss realizes that it is only natural for such strangers in a strange land to find in Syria a place to come to terms with one's strangeness.
Racist, Patronizing and Untruthful
This book has got to be the most racist book I've ever read.
A languorous, yet exciting trip to a complicated land
This absolutely remarkable story brings to life the sights, sounds and smells - in all their beauty and ugliness - of Syria. The book recounts the journey of one gay man has he spends several months traveling around this complex and exotic country, which was actually part of Mark Anthony's love gift to Cleopatra. Robert Tewdwr Moss was tragically murdered in London just after this manuscript was completed, so he never got to realize the fruits of his labors. This is such a pity because Moss was an extremely talented writer, who had a wonderful capacity to totally reinvent travel writing. This memoir works in many ways - as a profound treatise on the Middle Eastern Society; a chilling history of ethnic crimes - particularly the Armenian genocide - a picaresque adventure story, a compelling travelogue, and a touching and affecting tale of sexual self-discovery. Read more

Subjects:  1. Description and travel    2. Middle East - General    3. Personal Memoirs    4. Syria    5. Travel    6. Travel - Foreign    7. Middle East    8. Travel & holiday guides    9. Travel / Middle East / General   

Subjects:  1. Europe - France    2. Travel    3. Travel - Foreign   

Reviews (5)

Gay Guide for Hawaii Travel
After reading this book, I felt it was a little "dated" but, overall, it's a great guide for the Gay and Lesbian Traveler to Hawaii. Many lists of what, where, why and when to go to Paradise!

Matt Link is Hot, I Mean Hot!
I urge everyone to buy this book right away. It's the best damn book on Hawaii I ever read.

Matt Link is Hot, I Mean Hot!
I urge everyone to buy this book right away. It's the best damn book on Hawaii I ever read. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Gay Studies    2. Gay men    3. Guidebooks    4. Hawaii    5. Reference - Guides (General)    6. Social Science / Gay Studies    7. Travel    8. Travel - United States    9. United States - Pacific - Hawaii    10. United States - West - Pacific (General)    11. Australia & Oceania    12. Gay & Lesbian studies    13. Gays    14. Lesbians    15. Travel & holiday guides   

Subjects:  1. Asia - Southeast    2. Foreign Language Study    3. Foreign Language Study / Southeast Asian Languages    4. Gay and lesbian studies    5. Gays    6. Guidebooks    7. Sexuality    8. Southeast Asian Languages    9. Thai language    10. Travel    11. Travel / Asia / Southeast    12. Travel Guides   

Subjects:  1. Canada    2. Gay men    3. Gay/Lesbian Nonfiction    4. Guidebooks    5. Lesbians    6. Reference - General    7. Reference - Tips    8. Travel    9. Travel - United States    10. United States    11. United States - General   

Reviews (18)

ho-hum, florence ...
Possibly the most boring, pointless book I've ever read (and I do read a lot) - - no flow, not interesting, and the book does a dis-service to a fascinating town, despite the un-fascinating "celebrity" stories that Mr. Leavitt goes on and on and on about ...

Pompous, Boring, Never Elegant ...what was he thinking?
A slim volume on one of the world's great foreign destinations, so one would expect something elegant, insightful, witty perhaps, something evocative of the place. Mixed feelings
I have mixed feelings about this book. I found the chapter on homosexuality in Florence interesting, but a tiny phrase let it down. In the lesser space accorded the lesbian population, Mrs George Keppel is described as the mother of "yet another" lesbian. As if by there being four or five renowned lesbian inhabitants amongst the far more numerous gay males, they were forming a disproportionately large segment of the population! I found that quite odd.Read more

Subjects:  1. 1961-    2. Biography    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Description and travel    6. Europe - General    7. Europe - Italy    8. Florence    9. Florence (Italy)    10. Gay men    11. History - General History    12. Italy    13. Leavitt, David,    14. Literary    15. Social life and customs    16. Travel / Europe / Italy   

Reviews (4)

Odysseus International Gay Travel Planner 16th edition
The new 16th edition of Odysseus International Gay Travel Guide is filled with great vacation ideas for gay travelers in the USA and some 120 countries worldwide. The guide is up-to-date, reliable with accurate descriptions, photo and contact information. It is very easy to make international travel plans with Odysseus. I cannot imagine getting my travel plans right without it.

Book Description
Odysseus is a wonderful guide for gay men who plan to travel abroad. The book lists select accommodations, bars, restaurants, saunas, sex shops, and other businesses and places of interest(including some public cruising areas), and there are handy maps for manymajor cities (like Amsterdam, Florence, andSydney) and gay resort areas (like South Beach and Provincetown).Additionally, Odysseus is an excellent source tofind "facts in brief" about foreign destinations, including eachcountry's official language, population, unit of currency and exchangerate, telephone codes, and laws and attitudesregarding homosexuality. There are several useful indexes, including alisting of gay travel agents and of local gaypublications from around the world. The book features a good amount ofadvertising for gay hotels and other businesses, and there is asmattering of hunk photos interspersed among the listings.Odysseus Enterprises, the publisher, also operates a worldwide reservationssystems and can handle travel arrangements tomany of the places in the book.

Odysseus 98/99 review
"...The Odysseus guide is easy to read, maps are simply drawn giving access to the data, and country descriptions are concise and informative. In fact the whole construction of Odysseus is a well packaged andmanageable guide book..." Our World Magazine NOV.'98 ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Gay Studies    2. Reference - General    3. Reference - Guides (General)    4. Travel    5. Travel - General   

Subjects:  1. Europe - General    2. Gay Studies    3. Social Science    4. Sociology    5. Travel - Foreign   

Subjects:  1. Gay Studies    2. Gay men    3. Guidebooks    4. Lesbians    5. Reference - General    6. Reference - Guides (General)    7. Travel    8. Travel - General    9. Gay studies (Gay men)    10. Travel & holiday guides   

Reviews (1)

Indian lesbian photography work
This book consists of photos from 2 South Asian lesbian artists.The book is not entirely of South Asian subjects.It is primarily filmed in London, not entirely.Some may consider it edge with its photos of crossdressing, nudity, and politics.There are 3 accompanying essays, but they are small.This would make an intriguing coffee book. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Asia - General    2. Ethnic Sociology    3. General    4. Multicultural Education    5. Photo Techniques    6. Photoessays & Documentaries    7. Photography    8. Photography Of Specific Subjects    9. Subjects & Themes - Travel - World/Asia    10. ASIA    11. Gay & Lesbian studies    12. Photographs: collections    13. Photography / General   

Subjects:  1. Gays    2. Gay Studies    3. North America    4. Travel - United States    5. United States - General    6. Travel    7. Blank Books/Journals   

Subjects:  1. Gay Studies    2. Reference - Guides (General)    3. Special Interest - General    4. Travel    5. Travel - General    6. Lesbian studies    7. Travel & holiday guides   

Subjects:  1. Europe - Spain & Portugal    2. Travel    3. Travel - Foreign    4. Gay & Lesbian studies    5. Spain    6. Travel & holiday guides    7. Travel / Europe / Spain & Portugal   

Subjects:  1. Reference - General    2. Travel    3. Travel - General    4. Travel / Reference    5. Travel / Special Interest / General    6. Guidebooks    7. Lesbians    8. TRAVEL & HOLIDAY   

Subjects:  1. Gay Studies    2. Reference - General    3. Reference - Guides (General)    4. Travel    5. Travel - General   

Reviews (9)

I'm a Sucker for Romance
This book, in its less than 200 pages, kinda sneaks up on the reader.It starts out with the writer/narrator filled with self-doubts, both about the voyage he has embarked on and his life for his first thirty years or so.Stay with it and you will be richly rewarded.By page 80 or so I was totally enchanted, first by what slowly unfolds to be a beautiful love story.A love story told with such restraint that it wasn't until halfway through the book that I realized that Bill and Brian were actually a couple, and had been so for more than half a decade.He writes about his partner with such understated ardor that I was sure that the story would end in tragedy, or that merely the two parted company.Neither is true.
Perspective of a heterosexual landlubber
I bought this book because I was blown away by Storandt's first fictional novel, "The Summer They Came." However, as a straight male who does not know the first thing about sailing, I did not know what to expect from this work.My enjoyment of Storandt's effort is all the more impressive, given my lack of knowledge about the subject matter.Like all master story tellers, Storandt lets the reader enter his world by describing the situation in detail, with references to more familiar subject matter.For instance, when explaining why he cannot get out of bed during a severe storm, Storandt says that he can no more get out of bed than a potato worm can unfold in your hand ... brilliant!Storandt has 2 running stories in this book.In the foreground is his gripping account of his sailing adventure to Scotland (the homeplace of his life partner) across the Atlantic.In the background, is a discussion of his and his life partner's lives up until the time of the trip, with particular focus on how they came to realize they were gay.I highly recommend this book to even the most staunchly conservative "straights," and to the landlubbers most prone to sea-sickness!

Calling All Sailors & Gay Readers!
This is an interesting and fascinating memoir of one man's life who happens to love sailing and who is also a gay man living in a caring and loving relationship.You don't have to have a knowledge of sailing to enjoy this book.Although I have gone sailing a few times, I wasn't familiar with a lot of the sailing terms, but the author explains them very well.The author writes with dry wit, a questioning self-analysis, and deep passion.It was a pleasure to read his story, and it was never boring.This is a true-life story that will have broad appeal to many people. Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Description And Travel    4. Gay Studies    5. Gay men    6. Homosexuality    7. Homosexuality, Male    8. Sailing - Narratives    9. Social Science    10. Sociology    11. Specific Groups - Male Gay Studies    12. Storandt, William    13. Travelers    14. Voyages and travels   

Subjects:  1. Africa    2. Gay Studies    3. Social Science    4. Sociology    5. Travel - Foreign    6. Gay & Lesbian studies    7. TRAVEL & HOLIDAY   

Reviews (1)

Wonderful Writing
This book contains great travel writing by some of todays top authors. This is not a sex travel writing, but is eroctic at times as well as humorous and gives the mind plenty to comtemplate. We need more books like this one. Get it and take a trip. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Essays & Travelogues    2. Gay Studies    3. Gay men    4. Travel    5. Travel - General    6. Travelers' writings    7. Travel / Essays & Travelogues    8. Travel writing   

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business/Economics    3. Commerce    4. Gay consumers    5. General    6. Industries - Hospitality, Travel & Tourism    7. Lesbian consumers    8. Marketing    9. Tourism    10. Travel - General    11. Business & Economics / Hospitality, Travel & Tourism    12. Gay & Lesbian studies    13. Tourism industry    14. Travel, Sports, & Recreation | Travel | Tourism Studies   

Subjects:  1. Americas (North Central South West Indies)    2. Anthropology - General    3. Gay Studies    4. Gender Studies    5. History    6. History: American    7. Lesbian Studies    8. Sociology    9. United States - State & Local - West    10. California    11. Gay & Lesbian studies    12. History / Americas (North, Central, South, West Indies)    13. Travel writing