The photographs in this book are awe-inspiring,although I have one eensy-weensy complaint.Where were the Charlton Heston photographs?I've seen more photographs of him in man-to-man interaction that have been the very embodiment of homoeroticism than anyone else.He had a way of interacting with other man that was in my opinion akin to homosexual desire.

I first got this book as a present, and thought that it would be a picture book about beefy gym-bodied men with little substance. Upon reading and looking through the book, my impressions were quickly turned around. This book has a wonderful collection of pictures dating back to the 1800s that show how men have been portrayed by various photographers through the years. Some images are very striking and almost appalling, while others accentuate male form. The text that accompanies the pictures is very informative and critical, making the reader think while he looks upon the images. This is a book that I now enjoy returning to in order to see that the male body has so many possible portrayals. I was even impressed to see my own college professor's work in the book!!

There are two "losses" here: the author's loss of his first love, a kind man named James, to impulsive infidelity (the author's); and the world's loss, that of author Michael Grumley, to AIDS, ten years ago. This autobiographical novel is many things: well-written, simply told, generous to his quite wonderful family and the place he grew up in. It's also heartbreaking because the reader knows from the outset that Grumley has died of AIDS; the introduction is a beautiful one, a eulogy really, by Edmund White. A good book for gay teenagers -- the observant and comforting portrayal of childhood, adolescence, and (blissfuly untormented) emerging sexuality amidst the comfort of a good family is refreshing and heart-warming. The descriptions of nature, people, and New Orleans are precise and seem effortlessly well-wrought. The requisite trip to early- 1960's California is (sanely) made brief, and Grumley returns home to Iowa none the worse for wear -- and ready to take on his future. I really liked this man and the story he tells, and it breaks my heart to know that's he's gone.

Being true to yourself is almost impossible without being true to others. This is one lesson the hero of "Life Drawing" almost learns. At its heart, this book is about relationships. Mickey is looking for a place to fit in. He loses his chance with James because he is blind to the fact that his place is already secure. As the innocence of Youth drowns in possibilities, this journey of discovery stretches down to New Orleans and extends to the West Coast. The journey is a

reflection of the one we all must take and the opportunities we recognize or ignore.

Like the other books in the Men on Men series, this is an enjoyable collection of stories by and for gay men. This book stands out from the others in that it has a story by the incredible Joe Keenan (with the same main characters as Blue Heaven and Puttin' On The Ritz). It's worth buying for that story alone.