Conditions and Diseases Books

Not enough information. Very slim book, with little information. Basically, all of the information it contained I have found on websites.

This book was very informative but I already knew most of what was in the book from research of my own. I would suggest this book to anyone suffering from IBS who wants to learn more about this health issue. Great book.

On page 40 she states, "55% of patients reported that bran made their IBH worse and yet the 1st recipe in "20 Recipe You Cannot Live Without" is Raisin Bran Muffins! Whereas in the definitive book on IBS "Eating for IBS" says stay away from whole wheat, milk, cheese, and red meat (which I followed and it solved our IBS problem), this book pushes whole wheat, whole milk, eggs, and dairy.

"Eating for IBS" helped. Following the recipes in this book would not.

Unfortunately a well-intentioned author provides just another "me too" guide, which includes all the persistent misconceptions about the role of diet in IBS-D; D&C; and C subpopulations. Clearly not current with the literature and does not understand the processing of benign antigens by the gastroimmune system nor the process of oral tolerance (which is compromised in this condition leading to the symptoms). As with any of these books, authors do not yet understand the fact that to achieve a high-rate and significant degree of remission the diet must be patient-specific. This cannot be accomplished with the procedures recommended much less with the dietary advice provided. Probabilities dictate that you are bound to find some people who experience some relief from some of the recommendations, and many people who receive little relief. Some will experience worsening of their symptoms. IBS patients will be consuming foods and additives left and right which perpetuate their symptoms using these types of books for guidance which is well out of date.

I have IBS/D and I found this book to be a very useful guide. It helped me to realize that I had been eating foods that were hurting me. The list of gassy foods is especially on-point and the most comprehensive one that I've seen yet. I've followed the recommendations in this book closely and noticed a marked difference in how I feel. A great guide to keep on hand in your kitchen.

This book is informative, but since cancer patients have to see a nutritiionist and eat whatever their body allows them to eat, this can be difficult. But, if the the patient can eat whatever they need to, this book has lots of good advice and suggestions.

Some of the ideas in this book are great; others are terrible. The important work that has been done since the 1980s concerning the essential, healing role that omega-3 fatty acids play in the human diet is not reflected in this book. Be very, very cautious if you use this book. Be sure to read widely to make up for the major deficits of scientific, nutritional knowledge that plague this author.

Once again, Mischio Kushi has written an informative and precise book on how to maintain your health, even when facing a diagnosis of cancer.

Like so much of the macrobiotic diet, this is a healthy and great diet to begin to feel great and regain your health.

Sadly, both Michio Kushi's wife and one daughter have died of cancer. Being that they were Japanese, the healthiest and longest lived people in the world, this doesn't really speak well for the diet. However, macrobiotics, when taken with common sense, have been known to help cancer patients, some say to the extent of "curing" them. Follow your own instincts... and keep in touch with a trusted doctor!

This book does an excellent job of summarizing and organizing all of the work done by Michio Kushi and others over the span of decades working with cancer patients. Though Macrobiotics is based on much Japanese culture, this book is geared to the westernized/American reader so there is very little in the way of cultural chasm to jump over.

Many of the reviews up here are rather ill-informed. Though Macro has been around for decades, most of modern medicine now accepts its precepts, including the AMA, WHO, National Institute of Cancer Research and others. Most of the major natural lifestyle books that have been published in the last 30 years acknowledge learning much from Michio--some are direct carbon copies of Michio's works!

In any case, I have used it and seen first hand my family members recover directly from changing the diet and lifestyle. The changes to body and health happen within a few weeks. My family and I looked and felt better within 6-8 weeks, and the member that had been diagnosed with cancer and given 6 months to live, had the cancer go into remission and lived a number of years longer--and did not die from cancer. I make no claim it will work in every case, but it is a tremendous aid in re-establishing ones good health. If I were to come down with cancer or other serious illness I would go strict Macro. It not only effects your chronic health, but your more general weight and energy levels as well. It is a bit hard to stay on for the long haul with our modern lifestyles, but you do the best you can--and you do it seriously if you are sick.

There has NEVER been any serious and backed up accusation that anything on the diet is in any way dangerous to your health, so there is zero downside to trying it.

As to the sad passing of members of Michio's family from cancer, what can one say. There appears to be a weakness in their genetic make-up that allows this. Nobody knows if they would have died at a much earlier age, and for all we know Michio was attracted to the study of health and cancer due to this family predilection. This is a common reason people get into the study of health.

I am forever grateful for the work this man has done and shared with us.

If you have read Barr's other book, "Me and Sarcoidosis: A Lifetime Partnership", you already know that his grammar leaves one wondering where his "editor" that he speaks so highly of got her training. My guess is that it was a friend who cringed at his errors, and while this is somewhat improved, it still needs much work to flow properly.

Being a sarcoidosis patient myself, I dragged through the books in hopes of learning how to deal with the disease, and how to treat it. By the time I got through this book, I was skipping lots of repetition from prior chapters.

I agree that there was too much focus on the worst case. Conversely, the writer may feel that he received solace from his religious beliefs, but I felt like he tried too hard to push that while being soft on useful facts.

I did think this was an improvement over the first book, as it didn't focus so much on Barr's own case, but I'm still looking for something more useful out there.

Maybe it is just me, but I found the author's attitude to be so negative as to negate some of the information. I have a severe case of sarcoidosis and am going through the steroid and now a low dose chemo drug therapy. It is life changing, but I am not going to let it ruin my life. I am blessed with good doctors and a wonderful support system of family and friends. I continue searching for information on this disease in a positive manner.

As a sarcoidosis patient since 1996 I found this book to be a refreshing realistic look at how people cope with chronic health problems and the issues most of us face. Although each situation was different, and in some cases unique to anyone I know, there were many physical and emotional aspects that I could identify with in regard to my life. Personally I didn't take the author as being negative but instead honest about what happened to him and the others. Sometimes things happen in life that aren't always good and it's good to finally hear someone talk about the problems instead of looking the other way, as most tend to do. Of course there are people who don't experience problems (I wish I was one of them) but bringing them out and addressing them in order to turn them positive isn't whining. The author does have a unique style of writing that might bother those who weigh in on every aspect of the English language but personally it helped me relate even more so to the book because I know the author is one on us! It takes a lot of guts to share with the world your health life. If you can look at life and your situation with an open mind this is an excellent read for anyone dealing with sarcoidosis or any other health situation.

No practical info whatsoever for a sarcoidosis patient like myself, too whiny and I wasn't interested in his relationship with god!

Lots of nice resources appear in the book and the author's story and those of his selected pen pals are frightening "worst case" sorts of hsitories. Unfortunately, the book is poorly written: passive, repetitive style and odd gramatical constructions distract the reader from the engaging content. Moreover, the focus on worst case scenarios and incompetent medical professionals is at great odds with my experience: I've been diagnosed with sarcoidosis twice in the past 7 years (I had a remission), each time within a month of odd chest X-rays, and each time in the absence of any symptoms whatsoever. Each time the doctors were very much on top of results and very quickly got me to specialists. Since I've never had a SINGLE symptom, the worst cases described in the book just don't speak to me, and may frighten readers unnecessarily.

i found this book quite good, it gives great lists of all the different food categories. still found that alot of the food listed was american, canadian or australian though.

One of my problems with trying to maintain a healthy weight is continuing feeling of hunger. The concept of Glycemic Index (G.I.), i.e. how fast food is turned into blood sugar, which in turn causes the pancreas to put out a lot of insulin, which in turn causes extreme hunger,always made sense to me. The problem was, how do you know what is the G.I. of all the food around you. Well this book perfectly listed almost every food that you will be exposed to. Once I selected to only eat really low G.I. foods, my hunger left me right away and my weight started to come off.
The only reason I didn't rate the book a 5 star is something they did that they maybe thought would be helpful but got in the way. They classified all the foods like vegetables, nuts, meats, etc. then within that classification listed them alphabetically. Well that kept getting in my way because, not being a food expert, I couldn't always guess what was the food I was looking for classification. Many times, I thought they hadn't listed the food, but in actuality it I was looking in the wrong clarification. It would have been better if all the foods were simply listed alphabetically. I didn't care about its classification because that had no nutritional impact to me.

Update your info about Hypoglycemia food choices and a safe, easy way to lose weight with this book - easy to use and understand.

This was an interesting book but the downside was the products you would find at a grocery store were Canadian products. Products in the USA do not have a GI listing.

I was disappointed with this book. Most of the name brand products they had on their list are only available in Canada. This was of very little use to me since I live in California.

OK, so I'm not an expert. I am a person who has learned about good nutrituion through a lot of comparative research and experimentation. IMHO, this book is -- and this is a mild, technical term -- Hogwash. It is bad science, bad nutrition and, perhaps worst of all, bad writing. Don't waste your money.

This is a great book that will remain the "Classic" long after all others on this subject have faded. It's written by the physician who found Syndrome X and gives straight-up information on the subject of how uncontrolled insulin and glucose levels damage our health. Although there is a wealth of information on the internet, much of it is inaccurate or partially inaccurate, and that's the case with Syndrome X. All the other Syndrome X books that have been written were knock-offs published after this one by authors who knew far less about the subject. What you get in this book is 100% quality information and solutions that you can trust. However, it's not necessarily written for the customer who wants only touch-feely anecdotes; it tells us the real scoop. Reading the medical journals of new research emerging confirms everything in this book, and shows that high insulin levels can cause other horrible diseases besides Syndrome X, type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease, such as all these new ones that have been added to the list: colon cancer, prostate cancer, breast cancer, sleep breathing disorder, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, impaired cognitive (brain)function, polycystic ovary syndrome, and a couple of others disorders. This book is the best of the bunch.

The book was ok, but with all the information at our fingertips on the web and also knowing some things about the heart and other conditions, I felt like I wasted my money except for the diet part of the book. He didn't really list anything that I didn't already know and he didn't give any symptoms, except for tests. I guess you have to go by that, but I just felt let down by the book. I wanted more from it. I know about the chambers of the heart and techniques used to treat heart problems. I just felt all of that could have been left out. I want to know more about the disease and how they came across it and how people's lives are doing now with the diet and things like that. I just felt like he was a doctor giving advice, but it lacked that punch that keeps you wanting to know more. He didn't give a good review on meds and he just didn't sound like a good writer. I felt like he was saying the same thing over and over at times and he just didn't need to explain all the stuff about the heart and how we burn calories and stuff like that. It just seemed redundant. Some people may want to know all of that stuff or they may already know it. I just felt like I was reading a boring book that had things in there that were of not any use to me. I hope I'm not being to harsh, but I just was so let down.

The lead researcher on HOW too many refined carbs can lead to coronary heart disease. His description of the HOW is quite valuable, if a little repetitive. His prescription for action is adequate with some useful material, but not really his forte. See the reviews of the hardcover version, which has a slightly different title.

This is the first book review I've ever written... Anywhere! However, if my experience can help anyone, I feel I must write a review on this book.
I am not a good writer! My writing style is a reflection primarily of the writing I do most, research notes. I never have to write papers, so my style is for me alone. I'll try to be concise and to-the-point and still add enough seasoning to give a flavor as to why it was important to me and why I wish I had been exposed to these studies and findings years ago.
First of all, this is not a bathroom book that one can read a couple minutes here and a couple of minutes there. I started reading it on the hour-long drive back from the doctor's office where I got the book while my wife drove. Before we got home I realized that I would need to read it as a textbook and not as a novel! For that reason, I set it aside until I could. I carried it on vacation and to business trips hoping to have time to devote to it... Jury duty provided that time. I was right! It did require reading it as a book! I made many margin notes, underlinings, cross-references, and lists inside the front and back covers. I only regretted not having a computer to take more detailed notes. I'm doing that on the second reading.
When I discovered I had high insulin, I started reading all I could about high insulin, type II and insulin resistance. There is a lot of information... Especially on the Internet... But, much of it disagrees with each other. I look primarily for actual studies and not opinions or guesses. Some of those sites provide good information, charts and diagrams to other sites that can be verified by actual studies... I also like to be able to look at the study. Many times what is written about a study isn't what is actually in the study... Especially government studies. Many government studies are even miss-reported by the government! But that's just me. It's the way I try and weed out good information from junk, realizing that I'll still accept junk at times and reject good, but that's why pencils have erasers... I can always change my conclusions whenever new information shows errors in those conclusions.
The problem with antidotal information is that it may be ignoring key parameters that were never considered and never measured, but may be key to the results observed.

My first physical was during the Vietnam War. My blood test results required a Glucose Tolerance Test (GTT). The GTT results were fine. Since that time, occasional blood tests have also resulted in GT test.... Each time, the GTT passed fine. Now, I suffer from what would normally be considered serious diabetic symptoms without being diagnosed with diabetes (even with the new diagnostic guidelines.) Both my blood sugar and A1c tests are below the diabetic guidelines for type II.
"Syndrome X" explains it all! MY next step is not to criticize the parts of the book that were difficult to read, but to put it into practice and see what happens.
Take this review for whatever it might be worth to you... I really don't care! I'm not selling anything. I don't care how many books are sold.

This book offers real hope with real substance for those in a difficult situation. If we didn't live in such a hyper-sensitive anti-Christian culture, one wouldn't have even imagined the previous reviewer could have called ideas in the book 'fundamentalist.' I feel for the people at that hospital who are being denied some real help due to a librarian's bias and discrimination. Read the book yourself, rather than letting someone else decide for you.

No one is prepared when the doctor looks at you after examining your child and his/her demeanor gives away the news: your child is seriously ill. Everything changes. What was a normal day becomes a vacuum that keeps you and your family prisoner while the rest of the world continues to move, breathe and enjoy life.

You feel you're suffocating as well meaning people throw words like "I know how you feel" at you when they can't possibly know how you feel. You vacillate between wanting to scream or disappear, finding that it's a dream and your family is intact. But it isn't a dream, and it won't go away. And though you shout "THIS ISN'T FAIR," and it isn't, nothing changes.

As two mothers who are also nurses, the authors readily admit their medical backgrounds are not necessarily an asset when your child is the subject of chronic illness. They take you through the experiences shared by any parent who finds that in a few seconds, their future and that of their child has been forever altered by the ravages of the disease.

There are implications for the family, and especially those for the caregivers and the siblings. Hoekstra and Bradford draw upon their strong Christian faith to answer in part the questions "Why?" and "Why me?" Their practical advice coupled with their spiritual insights make this a MUST READ for the parents of chronically ill children.

As a grandparent of a child born with severe heart problems, the book was a wonderful find. It's been given away nearly a dozen times -- to parents of a child with a fast growing tumor; to parents sitting in the neonatal unit of a children's hospital; to a pastor who often finds himself counseling heartbroken parents who need answers.

The final result will depend on the outcome of each story, but for this reader, the encouragement given by these mothers provided a way to endure the days of shock, frustration and discouragement. The sun is bring again, not because the circumstances have changed, but because the perspective has sharpened, thanks to Bradford and Hoekstra.

We purchased this book for our hospital patient health resource center, and decided after reviewing it that it wasn't suitable. While I have no objection to presenting points of view of many different faiths, this book takes a strong fundamentalist view towards parenting. Much of the narrative and Biblical quotations are needlessly shaming to parents who are already struggling with the strain of a chronically ill child. The casual browser who reads the jacket blurb on this book will see only that the authors incorporate prayer in their coping suggestions, a perfectly acceptable option. This book is not appropriate for an unsuspecting parent seeking solace and support.

Showcasing more than 150 superb recipes, the "Cleveland Clinic Healthy Heart Lifestyle Guide And Cookbook" is the collaborative effort of experienced cookbook authors Bonnie Sanders Polin and Francis Towner Giedt, and the medical experts at the Cleveland Clinic's highly respected Heart & Vascular Institute. More than just another cookbook designed for 'heart healthy' dining, the "Cleveland Clinic Healthy Heart Lifestyle Guide And Cookbook" is also a compendium of sound, practical, professional advice on reshaping the modern American lifestyle so as to enhance cardiovascular health and physical well-being. From Salmon Mousse; Warm Arugula with Polenta Croutons and Mozzarella Cheese; and Linguine with Spicy Broccoli and Portobello Mushrooms; to Grilled Black Sea Bass over Summer Vegetables with Japanese Dressing; Asian Chicken Wraps; Curried Lentils and Cauliflower with Cucumber Raita; and Orange Upside-Down Cake, the "Cleveland Clinic Healthy Heart Lifestyle Guide And Cookbook" offers a culinary wealth of savory, 'kitchen cook friendly' recipes that would grace any family meal or celebratory dining event.

We really like the Cleveland Clinic's Healthy Heart Lifestyle Guide and Cookbook. I got it for our whole family to use because my husband has recently been diagnosed with high cholesterol at the age of 31, a shock to all of us with him being at such a young age.

I remembered recently reading about this cookbook in the Cleveland Clinic's heart surgery ICU after my father's open heart surgery in early August. The recipes are very good and are not too complicated to make. We have enjoyed the recipes and have been surprised at the wide variety of food we can all have in a healthy heart diet. Everyone can benefit from lowering their cholesterol so our whole family including our young children are keeping to this type of diet (a refreshing change from typical kid fare such as mac and cheese and chicken fingers).

The biggest thing that I remember about my father's 6 week stay at the Cleveland Clinic, was how much he enjoyed their food. This cookbook was an easy choice for us because of what my father had to say about the food there. Sadly he passed away 3 weeks after coming home, we are also using this cookbook as a tribute to him.

Following our recent stay at the Cleveland Clinic I was impressed by all communications and printed matter coming out of the Clinic. The Cleveland Clinic Cookbook certainly promised to offer a concise roadmap of how to cook heart healthy fare,however, once I began reading and leafing through its contents I was surprised to see that it was not all it was cracked up to be. The first recipe I selected turned out alright, however, the directions were not concise and oddly enough the very pages on which the book is printed are not of good quality so that if you happen to spill something while cooking or even just dampen the page it seeps through (they must have used a light weight paper stock in a move toward economy?) so, to my utter surprise, this book is less than expected. Perhaps it might be wise to skip this volume and search the many other options available for good heart healthy fare....

..I was looking forward to having this book since I am a diabetic and the book was recomended to me for planning my meals..The book was mailed to me but I never received it..Probably the mail carrier placed the slip at a different mailbox and the person went to the post office and got the book.(since no ID is required)I do not blame the sender..The sad story is that no one seems to be accountable, not the carrier, not the post office..Unfortunately there are still people that care very little for the next guy..

I have just noticed that this book won a Special RecognitionAward award from the American Medical Writers Association (aprofessional group that I belong to). I found this book very realistic, very different from the fad diet books that are so popular. The only problem I had with it is that it's written at a low reading level. That's with good reason, but some highly educated people might tire of its style. My husband is using it to lose weight and so far, so good.

This book contains excellent worksheets, sample menus, and some recipes. It is informative with scientific specifics presented and explained. The content increased my knowledge of weight management and provided helpful strategies. I couldn't implement all of the suggestions but some have really stuck with me. There are helpful hints throughout the book. I recommend it to those looking to control their weight.

Braverman has done a real service to the millions of Americans being hurt by blood pressure drugs. He correctly points out that, while they do lower blood pressure, the side effects end up INCREASING mortality. Braverman gives good practical alternatives including nutrition, vitamins, and life style changes. He tries to be fair to the heart drugs and points out that the calcium channel blockers are the safest drugs and probably OK. Well, since he published in 1996, studies have shown that some of these drugs double your risk of cancer and increase the rate of heart attacks. Mark Kroll, PhD, FACC

While the information in this book may be valuable, the poor arrangement of information and almost non-existent editing make it a difficult read. This undermines the potential validity of the information the author is trying to get across. I am left wondering if I can trust the message, given the poor quality of its packaging.

Sentences are missing words, or say the opposite of what they apparently are meant to say. The impression given is that the author is not a native English speaker but the bio in the back suggests that he is. Important information about nutrition as it relates to hypertension and to Dr. Braverman's program is scattered somewhat randomly throughout the book and it is up to the reader to pull it all together so that it makes a cohesive whole. The reader who is prepared to ignore the poor writing may get something of value out of the book if he is willing to work at it.

Some of the reviews express such anger. Because not all of us have as yet found a way to "be" whole and content is not a reason to bash Sullivan because he has. Yes, he seems to blatantly extend his perspective as universal, but that doesn't mean we can't learn from his perspective. No one tale describes the full story. No one journey depicts universal experience. He's honest and real, even if you disagree with his viewpoint. Stop slamming him for how he found his way and spend a bit more time finding your own, perhaps with his help.

I have read all of Andrew's books and this is by far the least compelling. While he does generate some interest in the first two chapter, by the third he is off into some very abusive logic. He has written an important article recently about his injection of testosterone as a treatment for HIV infection and I believe this is changing his writing style. If you compare this book with his earlier ones, it would almost appear that he has become ex-gay or at least supports the philosophy of Reparative Therapy and it's earlier genesis with Frank Worthington and Love-In-Action (San Rafael, CA). I look forward to anything he writes in the future, but cannot recommend this book to any of my friends.

The only response to reading this book is attempting to place a legal gag order on poor little Catholic gay boy Andrew Sullivan, who longs to be accepted by the Church and other upstanding folk. The same man who said he contracted HIV "accidentally, not recklessly" as to separate himself from the Bad Queer writes an intolerable, self-obssessed book which proves every last word from his critics. If you know whats good for you, don't read this!

Andrew Sullivan made a reputation for himself by being elevated at a very young age as a senior editor of 'The New Republic', a position he filled from 1991-1996. He continues his journalistic career by writing for 'The Times' (London) and 'New York Times Magazine', as well as contributing articles to a large number of other periodicals.

At the height of his career, Sullivan made the announcement made the announcement that he was HIV-positive. In saying this, he made the assertion: `I intend to be among the first generation that survives this disease.'

Sullivan has occupied a difficult position politically - tending toward conservatism that doesn't sit well with much of the homosexual community, he also tends toward political positions (such as pro-same sex marriage) that go against much of the conservative sentiment. In this first book, 'Virtually Normal', Sullivan argued for an acceptance of same-sex marriage; he followed that up by editing a collection of essays and contributions by others on the same topic.

However, his latest book, 'Love Undetectable', is a very different book. Insofar as Sullivan's life is inextricably bound up with political, historical, and sociological writing through his profession, that is reflected here, but this is a very non-political book. Consisting of three essays, it is primarily reflexions on the life of a survivor, who has yet to become a successful survivor - Sullivan himself.

Sullivan is bound to alienate all sides in some ways once again with this volume. He takes on both the church and religious side and the gay liberation side in his first essay: When Plagues End. 'The gay liberationists have plenty to answer for in this. For far too long, they promoted the tragic lie that no avenue of sexuality was any better or nobler than any other; that all demands for responsibility or fidelity or commitment or even healthier psychological integration were mere covers for "neoconservatism" or, worse, "self-hatred"; that even in the teeth of a viral catastrophe, saving lives was less important than saving a culture of `promiscuity as a collective way of life', when, of course, it was little more than a collective way of death.'

Of course, this quotation is bound to please the fundamentalists, who would love to paint the gay community as a `collective way of death'. But Sullivan doesn't go lightly on the other side, either. Sullivan recalls a time when the AIDS quilt was in Washington, and during a service at that time, in the heart of Washington's gay community, the priest at the church began a sermon with the words, `Today, few of us know the meaning of a plague like leprosy....' Sullivan of course had words with the priest afterwards, and asked him quite bluntly if he had ever heard of AIDS.

This is a very personal journal of Sullivan's, presenting his arguments in full concert with his emotions and experiences, of friends who have been public and friends who have stayed silent about their orientation and their disease, those who are reckless with their health and those who are determined against their illness, as is Sullivan himself. A remarkable journal of an interesting person.

Probably Sullivan's best book, especially the passages on his own personal struggles with homosexuality. Here at least he is willing to describe the differences between gays and straights more honestly than in his other pieces, and certainly more honestly than most people. In my experience (and I wish it were not so!), gays tend to share some unpleasant character traits, such as effeminacy or lack of masculinity, cliquishness, and lewdness. Sullivan gives some societal causes for these things, such as a harsh childhood environment, and the hostility of parents and public [...]. This can indeed be expected to produce unhappy results, one of which might, perhaps, be promiscuity in certain individuals; but I doubt that the promiscuity would be so widespread and would continue well after adolescence, in much more lax and tolerant times, and even in the face of a deadly venereal disease, were it not for some strong natural and innate predisposition, taste, and desire. I myself have not noticed any correlation between gay promiscuity and childhood unhappiness-except perhaps a slight inverse correlation. When one considers further the lewdness, even pornography, of even the most well-regarded pieces of gay "romance" stories, of gay newspapers and magazines, of gay bars and personal ads, of gay parades and rallies-wherever and whenever gays feel, not oppressed, but most *free* to be themselves with themselves-one is forced to suspect that some unfortunate natural difference between gay men and heterosexual men must be at work.

Sullivan attempts to try to interpret these characteristics in a more favorable light, for example, that gays are more tolerant in their relationships and more realistic. I agree that these qualities can, in limited respects, be good. But from the point of view that is most interesting to me, as someone trying to assess the romantic possibilities, I disagree that something very good can be built on such things. I also disagree that these qualities can be conducive to the best friendships. There is much more kinship between love and friendship than he realizes (for example, true friendship is an exclusive bond between two, not a carefree open network among many).