I liked this raw, edgy story a lot. It is not a romance by any means but an in your face look at one man's life in pre-aids San Francisco. It all started with a gang rape that changed Warren Miller's life. This is Warren's account of that night and what followed it. I enjoyed Warren's naivety and his fresh look at gay life. Mr. Vanden's note at the beginning was the perfect introduction to the book and should be heeded. Based on fact, this book is worth the read if for nothing else than its historic value. ( )

I read this on Teddy Pig's recommendation and am glad I did. Yes, it is dated, yes it's not PC (by many standards) containing as it does instances when the protagonists take drugs and carry on with a number of unsafe sex practices.

So let's lay down a few facts in case you are tempted.....

If the concept of golden showers and other such things turns you off, don't read this book.

If you don't like learning about what it was like to be gay back in the 1970's, don't read this book.

If sections like this:

Gay guys are the most bewildering people on earth! One minute they can be so damned pleasant—and then turn right around and be the bitchiest bastards you’ve ever seen. It’s like they all had split-personalities! (I kept remembering that kid I'd picked up in Nevada, and the Jekyl-Hyde thing that happened to him.) I don’t know—it’s like gay guys live on a tightrope or something; you never know what’s going to set them off! Like—a guy would come in and order his drink, and usually he’d be smiling and happy, saying “hi” to everyone—and he’d pick out a spot to stand and display himself and cruise; but then, maybe half an hour later, you’d hear him snapping at people, swearing—or go storming out, shoving people out of his way! And who knows what the hell happened? Maybe he cruised someone and got turned down—or maybe he thought things weren’t happening fast enough—or got hungup thinking nobody wanted him! Or, you’re down at one end of the bar and a guy wants to talk—and someone else goes down to the other end, wanting a drink—and no matter what you do then, you’re wrong; they act like you’re insulting them both by not being in two places at once! Or if you’re out of the one kind of beer a guy likes, it’s like you’ve said something against his mother!

offends your sensibilities don't read this book.

If reading about rape upsets you - don't read this book.

While there is a HEA, if you're looking for a sweet m/m romance, don't read this book.

Are you getting the picture, yet?

However, if you want an honest, no-holds-barred look at the scene back then, check it out.

The gay mystery writer Josh Thomas, summed it up in his review thus: In 1969, a few months before the Stonewall Riots broke out in June, a fly-by-night publisher issued a title by Dirk Vanden called "I Want It All" as part of a throwaway series called Frenchy's Gay Line, sold only in dirty bookstores, two bucks a pop. But "I Want It All" turned out to be a real novel, winning a respected place in the history of Gay Lit. The wonder is, it's just as hot and every bit as readable today.

I couldn't have said it better myself. Just ignore the exclamation marks.... Wince. ( )