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Title: The Testosterone Files: My Hormonal and Social Transformation from Female to Male
ISBN: 1580051731
Author:
Max Wolf Valerio
Publicate Date: 2006-04-13
Publish: 2006-04-13
List Price: $10.00
Average Customer Rating: 4.5
Format: Paperback
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $8.98
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $7.99
Amazon Merchant Price: $10.00
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| Customer Review: |
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1: Not just for the fringe
I'm a married, straight guy on the cusp of 30 and I bought this book when someone close to me decided to transgender.
First of all it is very readable. Max has a good voice and a lot of um... vocabulary to work with. Sometimes it's a little much, but only for short periods of time confined to the preface and individual passages.
I'm not intro writing multi-page reviews, but I wanted to share a couple of impressions that the book left on me. The first is that it reminded me how much I like being a guy. Despite the ocean of difference between the author and myself, I identified with and was engaged by his enthusiastic narrative of maturation into a man. I don't propose to suggest to those of us on the outside that transgendering isn't totally insane and bordering on self-mutilation, but I'm definitely in a better position to be sympathetic to those deciding to take such a bold step.
The second impression was more of an idea that it inspired; the idea that transexuals - particularly FTMs - could be extremely talented and valuable as family and relationship counselors. Imagine having a moderator who could perfectly identify with the emotional component of each side of a conflict? Short of that, just reading about the transexual experience gives great insight into what of our behavior stems from true human nature, and what is a product of societal gender roles. Brilliantly interesting stuff. Feminism is old, people! Our generation takes our equal worth for granted. It's time to once again embrace our differences. Sexual dimorphism is hot. But I digress...
Obviously this isn't a book for everyone, but as a guy who takes his reading seriously I would say that it's worthwhile and I'm grateful I picked it up.
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2: Fascinating
I barely made it through the prologue of this book because of the writing style. The author is a poet and it really shows in that section. Unfortunately I'm not too keen on poetry and, while slogging through it, kept mumbling Mark Twain's Rule 14: Eschew Surplusage!
Nevertheless, this book is a fascinating read, and well worth pursuing to the end. Valerio throws amazing revelation after amazing revelation (ok, a little surplusage of my own) at you. I was surprised, for instance, that there are so many things about the effects of testosterone on men that I never knew or suspected.
Valerio does an excellent job sharing his experience, providing insight into the (to me) mysterious feeling that one has been born into a body that does not fit his sexual identity.
Our society would benefit from a greater understanding of LGBT issues, and this book is well-suited to that purpose. Read it and pass it on.
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3: Best FTM information and experiences I have read.
Max Wolf Valerio has a terrific way of providing knowledge and insight into the world of a FTM. Great read. You can even jump from chapter to chapter out of sequence for the information you need and not get lost in this book. The Author has been in many documentaries as well, including the film "Gendernauts". If you want information about being Ftm this is the book for you. Also A great read for anyone that wants to see inside the wonderful world of an amazing transition. It doesn't get much better than this. Don't let this one get away. Get this book and "Becoming Alec" written by Darwin S. Ward together and you have the foundation of the best works on FTM available to date. You'll be glad you did.
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4: herkullinen!
Like a fool, I avoided this book for too long thanks to some bad reviews by some angry feminists! Fortunately, I was able to catch a live reading by the author and my interest was again piqued. The book is less than a day old now and I haven't been able to put it down. Max has a delicious command of the language and this book is a fantastic adventure to experience and read. (I may be biased, as a 30-something FTM currently going through hormonal transition as well.) He is completely honest and his descriptions of the various phases of transition are spot on. Yes, it's a great piece of "trans literature," but more importantly an awesome piece of human history.
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5: interesting reflections on hormones
Overall, I thought is book was good, but not great. I like more nitty gritty gender theory, and I would've liked more of that sort of introspection. For a more general audience, it's probably a very good book. Esp. interesting are the author's reflections on the emotional/ mental effects of hormone therapy.
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