Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 306.765
Format: Bargain Price
Label: Da Capo Press
Manufacturer: Da Capo Press
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 311
Publication Date: 2006-01-02
Publisher: Da Capo Press
Studio: Da Capo Press

Customer Rating:
Summary: Leaping and Bounding to Unsubstantiated Conclusions
Comment: Boykin's blog is filled with misinformation, i.e., at one point he stated West Hollywood is the product of White Gay gentrification, forcing people of color out of the neighborhood with high rents and property values. This was a statement made by a man who lived in Los Angeles for two years!

Boykin's personal agenda, largely based on having an axe to grind with anyone not sharing in his black gay narrow-mindedness, gets in the way of any cohesive or reasonable argument to be made with the book.

So reading this book came with no surprise that it is filled with stories from personal history as the ONLY means to back-up his claims.

Boykin rambles, repeats himself, and says nothing insightful or of value.

Pass on this book - it is a copy of a diary, posing as a "research effort".

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Informative, Insightful, but Somewhat Repetitive.
Comment: I knew very little about the term "Down Low" and the ramifications it presents. After hearing about this book during a dinner conversation, I decided to give it a try with the goals of learning something new while expanding my cultural vision. Both came to fruition. I learned something new - primarily the backlog of information regarding the debates on DL and its impact, particularly on the Black community in the United States. I also learned that it is not a standardized term that explains the ambiguity that often shadows discussions on the issue.

What Boykin does well is present a number of facts that help someone understand what the current discussion is. What Boykin does not do well is present the facts in a manner that is conducive to a completely enjoyable read. I enjoyed the beginning of each chapter that were often peppered with personal anecdotes, but began to quickly lose interest mid-way through each section when presented with - what appeared to be - a super-saturated presentation of statistics. That would have been quite fine had the statistics not been repeated so often. I found a good portion of the book to be redundant.

All said, I this is a great primer on a timely issue. I would recommend it for anyone who has heard of the Down Low and is interested in learning more with facts.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: MUST READ!!!!!!
Comment: This book was a great book. I must say when I first got the book I was in dout thats it was about anything pozitive or helpful to the black community. But I must say I was very happy with this book. Keith Boykin really did alot of resaerch to put this book togeather. I think that any on that read the book (ON THE DOWN LOW)By J. L. King. Should read this book to get a full understand of things, and take away some of the fears, Lies and myths about HIV and the down low. It is a must read!!!! :)

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Definately a better read than J.L. King's book
Comment: Instead of sensationalizing the issue, I felt Mr. Boykin was aiming to educate people about homosexuality in black America instead of entertaining the masses. Great book!

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Take it or leave it
Comment: I've just finished reading Boykin's book, "Beyond the Down Low." While I find it well written and his observations often on point, I come away from reading the final paragraph thinking, "So what?"

Really, Boykin has unearthed nothing "new" about sexuality or sexual identity as it has been played out since there have been men, women and the undecided.

Boykin's book gains much of its cachet because it is one of the few published books that addresses sexuality from the perspective of a gay black man. The very paucity of literature that focuses on the plight of gay black men in America alone makes Boykin's contribution invaluable, regardless of the quality of his prose. Ultimately, however, his work is forgettable.

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