"One rarely reads a book compelling as a thriller yet as probing as a scholarly study. The book is remarkably satisfying, especially in terms of the author's using disparate landmarks to arrive at a single destination-mapping a new reality of interconnected desires in which cultures, faiths, traditions, and ethnicities overlap by means of a shared sexuality and surreality. The author demonstrates the interrelatedness of the parallel worlds of 'other' and this magically real world of the Mystery in the lives and achievements of the men whose stories he tells. The writing is so propulsive and authoritative, yet full of poetry and depth, that anyone reading the book will take away something of value." -- Grant Hayter-Menzies, author of The Empress and Mrs. Conger Homosexuality in Southeast Asia has been studied mostly as developments in individual countries within the region. Atkins has skillfully deployed a storytelling device of several protagonists' common attempts to create a 'paradise' for gay men-Bali, Bangkok and Singapore, or more precisely the space they offered to gay people at a particular period in time. The book contributes to our understanding of the important role that gender issues can play in national politics; more specifically how it can be a weapon used by politicians in their power play. The writer rewards his readers with a richness of details, and stitches his huge canvas of events with literary flair, making it an easy read. -- Russell Heng Hiang Khng, author of Outlaws at the Table: Gay Activists in Singapore Civil Society
Gary L. Atkins is a professor of communication at Seattle University in the United States. A literary journalist and scholar, he specializes in gay media and communication issues, as well as in freedom of expression law. His previous book, Gay Seattle: Stories of Exile and Belonging, was published by the University of Washington Press in 2003 and received numerous accolades for its scholarship and quality of writing.
An innovative, highly readable, nonfictional account of masculinity and gay male sexuality in Southeast Asia since the early 20th century... Highly recommended. Choice
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