history

Alas - I wish I could have given this book a top mark, but it is not to be. What kept me from doing so were not the pictures, but the limply connotating articles that accompany them. In this day and age of multiple choice selections the author may be forgiven to think that readers (or viewers alike) would be unable to detect what matters in the details of an image.

However I found it annoying to have a visual sensation reproduced (and that means interpreted) by often sensually inept words. Inept, because these saccharine follies detract from what should have really mattered: a distinction in time and culture.

The age which produced the spirit of these pictures has been edited out of our consciousness - the fact that no man's and no woman's sexuality has to be pre-defined is what interests now. The fact that things were different once( but how so?)also interests now.

This book is very much a child of the spirit of its times, ours. As such it contrasts what we have come to struggle with: the rigidly stereotypical images we have created of our senses and genders. In the same vein it also does what has become 'de rigueur', drown those things which speak for themselves, instead of understatedly enhancing them.

The yearning for acceptance; the proof to show that things were not always as we have them now is, I think, the main missile behind this book. Looking at the other reviews, it is clear that such a search is on, now. For bringing those images to mind, letting people know tha no-one is an island, even over the centuries, the book should be lauded.

However - I should recommend that Mr Deitcher begin work forthwith on a book showing us picture of soldierly love from the two world wars, a field that has not been explored to depth.

I'm not sure where I heard about this book, but I am grateful to the author for writing it. The photographs Deitcher describes and provides for us are beyond words. They provide such a wonderful insight into male friendships/relationships in the 19th Century and are very interesting to look at and ponder. This book is of particular interest to me as I'm currently writing a novel about a great uncle of mine and I have several photographs of him with other men, some more defined than others. But it isn't just the photographs that makes the book so excellent, it is Deitcher's words that bring everything to life. I was interested in his analyses of the relationships and that he is honest and forthcoming with the fact that we can never really know for certain what these photos represent, particularly when examined within the context of 19th Century social constructions.

Art historian David Deitcher has made a major contribution to our understanding of the American male. In particular, David, shows the importance of 19th century intimate male relationships. Mainly through multiple period photographs of intimate men and a well-rounded historical analysis of male sexuality, David argues that intimate relationships between men were fairly common in the 19th century. In particular, David contends, temporary and oftentimes intimate relationships occurred between men in their late teens and early twenties before they married.

Dear Friends shows that there is no clear distinction on what male sexuality represents, or that one's sexual orientation is permanent and fixed. Men and the relationships they share with one another are distinct and important for us to study, understand and value. By doing so, we gain a healthier understanding of ourselves. Dear Fiends shows what we (modern-day American males) can learn from our 19th century counter-parts in helping us better understand ourselves and our relationships we share with other men throughout our lives.