The Best Little Boy in the World Grows Up - Softcover

In this memoir, Tobias avoids discussing his sexuality in detail, and apologizes for even the occasional indirect remarks he makes to get around talking about sex. Instead, he covers his emotional relationships and the significant advances for gays and lesbians in American society that he has both witnessed and experienced since 1973. He writes in a charming, conversational style, frequently following digressions and then forcing himself back on track. Tobias is lavish in his praise of those he admires, including Bill and Hillary Clinton (who have "done more than anyone in the history of the world for gay and lesbian people"), and tries to see the good in those with whom he profoundly disagrees. The Best Little Boy in the World Grows Up is a thoughtful, self-assured memoir that shows that one way to start making the world a better place is to become at peace with oneself. --Ron Hogan

That book was called THE BEST LITTLE BOY IN THE WORLD, and even today it continues to be one of the first books people read when they are coming out. For many, this book has been a life-changing reading experience, and Tobias has the letters to prove it.

It has taken Andrew Tobias 13 years to write what he considers to be his most important book. This is a personal story, but it is also the story of a generation, and how it coincided with the rise of a new civil rights movement. Tobias found himself caught up in the swirl of that movement, and one of the most moving parts of this book occurs when he comes out to the President of the United States and 1,200 others at Renaissance Weekend. On the lighter side, there's also the time he finds himself at the urinal next to Sam Nunn, who led the fight against gays in the military.

Primarily, though, this is Tobias's story, and like any good coming of age story, it is a heartfelt account of how he grew and what he learned, from the ages of 25 to 50. It's about the distance traveled from infatuation to love, from adventure to commitment, from curiosity to self-awareness. And it's written with the same kind of self-effacing wit and intelligence and conscience that made his previous book, MY VAST FORTUNE, such a hit with reviewers and readers.