I enjoyed your book. Lots of excellent mini-bios and bracing descriptions of a wide variety of important modern composers and their musical compositions and performances. Your book is an excellent catalog for tyros such as myself. I found it odd that you appointed yourself as the out-meister for 20th century composers. Was this a bone tossed to your gay readers? I would think that if these homosexual composers wanted to be out they would have taken care of that during their lifetimes. The first half of your book is brimming with vitality, the remainder is depressing. It seems like many 20th century composers fell into the trap of oppressed minorities everywhere tearing at each other like crabs in an over-crowded pot, pulling each other down from the lip lest they escape into public recognition. Boulez comes across as the quintessential art-thug, one of so many examples. You are a bit of a thug yourself from your bully pulpit at the new Yorker and in this book. It is hard to hear the music through the hate, fear and backbiting you so thoroughly relate. This is unfortunate, when all is said, Jimi Hendrix and Duane Allman had greater musical gifts than the whole menagerie. I must admit, however, that your book offers an excellent education to a novice.