There is something fantastic about this book. It's dense as hell, more text book than easy reading, and ridiculously well researched, but I loved it.

Back story: When I first came out, I was having a hard time dealing with the fact there isn't a lineage of gay history. We've been around forever but we're not a community with historical traditions and tales that have been told from generation to generation. This book comforted that part of me. Boswell gives proof that homosexual persons existed and that homosexual love did exist. I can't begin to describe the emotional effect this had when reading it. It's really an amazing feeling to read about gay people in the early Christian era. I'm still dubious of the idea of gay sub-cultures during this time, but this book goes a long way in showing what was.

I want to say that this book, written in 1980, was one of the first that explored gay and lesbian studies. Being an age where not all the information was readily available, I can only imagine how difficult this book was to produce. Boswell goes above and beyond what little expectations I had. That being said, I would love to have seen Mr. Boswell speak before his passing and hear his thoughts on how "Queer Studies" has evolved since his book was released.

I picked up the book because this wasn't an area where I had a lot of knowledge but that I was extremely interested in. How did gay people get by? Was Christianity always so intolerant? These questions were answered and pleasantly so. I feel much more informed than I once did. I feel closer to my community and a little closer to my religion. Understanding man's role in how religion changes and the philosophical changes is so interesting and Boswell gives wonderful information.

Because it was one of the first, I feel that there are many trails that he goes down where, at the time, might have been uncharted, but might be considered dead ends today after more research has been done. I can understand people's issue with his analytical takes on his research. Another issue is that as a modern reader, it's hard for me to apply modern terms and modern ideas to older/ancient societies. I'm not sure if I wholeheartedly support the idea that there was a gay subculture, but I also don't know if it's my personal definition I have a problem with.

This book is not for everyone. It is dense, challenging, and hard to read at times. For those with an interest in this area, the rewards are immense though.

Lastly, I must add that I am not a scholar in the academic sense, but rather a casual reader. My opinion is that of a casual reader.