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The Best Little Boy in the World (Modern Library) (Hardcover)

~ Andrew Tobias (Author) "I was eighteen years old when I learned to fart..." (more)
Key Phrases: best little boy, straight friends, New York, Golden Boy, Jon Martin (more...)
3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)

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  Hardcover, August 24, 1998 -- $36.29 $0.56
  Paperback, May 10, 1993 $11.21 $1.99 $0.01
  Mass Market Paperback, October 11, 1986 -- $3.96 $0.01
  Unknown Binding, December 31, 1972 -- -- $75.00

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

When The Best Little Boy in the World was first published in 1973, Andrew Tobias could write about what it had felt like to begin to accept his homosexuality, but he couldn't bring himself to sign his own name to the book, for fear of embarrassing his parents. And so it was "John Reid" who became a hero to the thousands of gay males who found in this memoir a mirror for their own experiences.

Although the book appears rambling at times, Tobias always has a clear sense of where he wants to take readers with the story. He treats his closeted adolescence and college years, and his stumbling first attempts at "doing a thing" with other gay men, with a self-effacing humor that exposes his pain without descending into self-pity. And if his life seems fairly ordinary, apart from the sexual awakening ... well, that was the whole point. "You like and respect us when you don't realize we're gay," he writes in a new introduction, "so now please just continue to like and respect us once you do realize. It's not that big a deal."



Product Description

When The Best Little Boy in the World was first published in 1973, The New York Times Book Review hailed this classic account of a young man's coming to terms with his sexuality as "uniquely frank . . . a splendid book." Yet the reviewer was also disturbed that a journal about owning up to one's true identity had to appear under a pen name because of "societal bigotry."
------Happily, times have changed. Today "John Reid" can be himself and is already known to millions of readers as the witty, bestselling financial writer Andrew Tobias. To commemorate the twenty-fifth anniversary of his intelligent work, the Modern Library is re-
issuing The Best Little Boy in the World. Full of humor and free of guilt, it remains one of the most enduring memoirs of a generation.
------"An enlightening portrait of growing up gay in a straight world," said the Chicago Tribune. "John Reid comes out slowly, hilariously, brilliantly," wrote David Brudnoy in The New York Times Book Review. "One reads this utterly honest account with the shock of recognition."
------This Modern Library edition coincides with the publication of its sequel, The Best Little Boy in the World Grows Up, and includes a new Foreword by Andrew Tobias and a new Introduction by the writer and journalist Andrew Sullivan.

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Product Details

  • Hardcover: 247 pages
  • Publisher: Modern Library (August 25, 1998)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 067960314X
  • ISBN-13: 978-0679603146
  • Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 4.7 x 0.9 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
  • Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #832,967 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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More About the Author

John Reid
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Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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I was eighteen years old when I learned to fart. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
best little boy, straight friends
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, Golden Boy, Jon Martin, Herring Cove, Dennis Moyer, East Side, Harvard Business School, Supreme Court, Chip Morgan, Museum of Natural History, Great Scorekeeper, Hilda Goldbaum, Parker Martinson, Bad Area, Christmas Eve, Christopher Street, Lee Bailey, Mona Lisa, New Haven, Rick Swidler, Tommy Roth, Brooklyn Bridge, Jimmy Iskowitz, Moby Dick, Pee Shy
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The Best Little Boy in the World (Modern Library)
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Customer Reviews

30 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
3.5 out of 5 stars (30 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderfully contemporary novel, November 16, 1999
By Brian H. Hays (Tucson, Arizona) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Best Little Boy in the World (Paperback)
I found this book to be one of the most insightful and helpful books I have ever read. Although Mr. Tobias (aka John Reid) came out in the 70's, when it was far less safe or politically correct to do so, many of his emotions and internal struggles remain true to young people who are today struggling with their identies. Although at times Mr. Tobias has a tendancy to ramble in his writing, this only adds to the book's charm. It is a must read for gay and straight people alike. For the former it teaches that they are not alone in their sturggles, for the latter it teaches acceptance and understanding. It is truly a modern classic about a subject much too rarely discussed.
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36 of 44 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Why is this book a "classic"?, December 29, 2000
By Reader "gramercypk" (NEW YORK CITY) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Best Little Boy in the World (Paperback)
It is an interesting tale and a common one I am sure. There are portions that resonate with all gay men but the writing itself is at times, cliched and sloppy. None of that would matter, though, if I were not so offended by John Reid's (aka Andrew Tobias') rampant egomania. Even within his constricting closet, he passes judgement on those he deems too gay, not macho enough, not as attractive as he is. It's difficult to sympathize with his struggle. He yearns for freedom and acceptance while blindly condemning the "less blessed" around him. I find it repugnant and after reading about Mr. Tobias' "young stud pool parties" in New York Magazine a few years back, it seems that not much has changed. He's older now but still fit and tan and, oh yeah, very rich. God Bless America. The sequel is called "The Best Little Boy In The World Grows Up". I have not read it but I am doubtful. For me, this book in some way celebrates the elitism that is so overwhelming in the gay community. That is what is truly hurtful and awful about the subculture and what it's teaching young gay men.
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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Still Growing..., June 27, 2002
By F. Gentile (Lake Worth, Florida, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: The Best Little Boy in the World (Paperback)
I really enjoyed this book when it came out (no pun....).If you're looking for the gay mans Bible, this is not it. It does not necessarily have the dignity of Paul Monette, nor the "perfect love" of "The Front Runner." It is simply one mans quite amusing take on his growing awareness of being gay. I see alot of people are ready to stone Andrew Tobias for what they perceive as his hypocrisy. On the contrary, he was honest enough to admit his, at times, somewhat shallow and cavalier attitude. It's always easier to say what everyone wants to hear, he simply told it as it was. I find I don't have to agree with EVERY thought or viewpoint a person has in order to maybe learn something, or, at the very least, be entertained by them. While Andrew Tobias may have personality flaws (who doesn't ?), I hardly see him as the self-hating, superficial, elitist snob that some are trying to paint him as. He is simply a HUMAN BEING, just like a real person!! There's rainbow flag waving politically active gays, and ones who lead a quieter but no less meaningful life. That is their right to make that choice about what they're comfortable with. I know one thing, I have found gay people, no matter where they lie on that scale, to band together and be supportive of each other when need be. Yes, in the gay world, as in the "normal" world (whatever that is), there is a segment who are very image conscious. So what? Hey, sometimes life ain't fair. If you're going to hate everyone who had a more priviledged upbringing than you, and is "prettier", than the majority of us would be miserable ALL the time. On a scale of one to ten, I'm probably a five, maybe a six on a REALLY good day. The chances of a Ten wanting to go out with me are probably non-existant, IF I was ever to give it a thought, which I don't. I mean, really, who cares? And if memory serves, I remember him describing himself in this book as "cute" at best, with varying good days and bad days. Sorry if I'm getting away from the subject of the book, but I found all the personal attacks on this book unwarranted. You'd think Andrew Tobias was Charles Manson. He's not. He's just a funny and very smart guy, and this book is just ONE mans perspective about the almost always difficult process of coming to terms with being gay, which, at the time he did it, was even more difficult and unacceptable. If you know who you are and what you're about, this one mans funny and touching story should not offend. I will say, in the sequal to this book, "The Best Little Boy In The World Grows Up", which, by the way, he had written without using the pseudonym "John Reid", as in the first book, he had made progress in his awareness of self, and in the quality of his personal life. I mean, he's cute AND gives good financial advice... what's so bad about THAT ??
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 		 Most Recent Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars Best of both worlds (or not)
The book is entertaining in parts (his attempts to date women) and excruciating in others (fawning over his own body and achievements). Read more
Published 5 months ago by Capt. Plu

3.0 out of 5 stars Not the best little book in the world...but, not too bad either
Andrew Tobias writes a poignant and touching autobiography of his young life as a closeted boy coming of age in the Northeastern US in the 50's and 60's. Read more
Published 8 months ago by J. Ninos

4.0 out of 5 stars TBLBITW: Life in the Closet
The Best Little Boy in the World (TBLBITW) was the first memoir of a LGBT individual I read and it was well worth the read. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Robert D. Shull

5.0 out of 5 stars How many of us have the same story?
I could have written this book but I didn't. It's taken me nearly 60 years to do what Andrew Tobias did in his 20s. How many "best little boys" are out there somewhere? Read more
Published on September 18, 2006 by A Reader

1.0 out of 5 stars Outdated and Overhyped
I bought this book because I thought I'd relate with the author's choice of the title "The Best Little Boy in the World". Read more
Published on August 2, 2006 by E. Jordan

1.0 out of 5 stars Self-loathing and superior
The other readers pegged it nicely: this book is self-loathing and superior. I read this when I was fourteen and, fourteen years later, found myself rereading it when I cleaned... Read more
Published on January 31, 2006 by ronaldbrian

1.0 out of 5 stars Damaging story from a damaged, poor writer.
If you're looking for a tale of self-loathing, arrogance born of privilege and internalized homophobia - then you've found your book. Read more
Published on November 4, 2004 by Tadzio Taylor

2.0 out of 5 stars The most self centered little boy in the world
This is less a chronicle of growing up gay than it is a chronicle of growing up a narcissist. There's really very little empathy here for the experience of others who've grown up... Read more
Published on April 1, 2004

5.0 out of 5 stars Things are not always as they seem...
When I first read this book, the author was listed as John Reid. Originally written in 1973, it is understandable that, at that time, anyone who wanted to have a `real career'... Read more
Published on July 27, 2003 by FrKurt Messick

4.0 out of 5 stars The life some wish they could have
I finally read this book after being out of the closet for five years and I found it to be a very interesting look into ones man struggle with his sexuality and coming out. Read more
Published on October 26, 2002 by whitetiger732

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