The Bear Book II: Further Readings in the History and Evolution of a Gay Male Subculture (Haworth Gay & Lesbian Studies)

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Summary: This honey of a book made this Papa feel happy and connected
Review: I have not read this book, but I will be buying it tonight. My Son just told me he was in it, that is THE BEST reason to buy this book. Thank You,A proud Mother,Kathy Furtado

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Summary: Wright heads a couple a basic bear books for my shelf
Review: 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.

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Summary: This honey of a book made this Papa feel happy and connected
Review: 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.

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Summary: interesting but flawed
Review: 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.