"You’d have to call Zeeland’s research methods idiosyncratic. He has sex with a lot of guys, then he asks some of them to talk about their whole sexual history, and he ends up with a book comprised of these interviews (i.e. ‘Anthony: The Boot Camp Dream,’ ‘Eddy: The Sea Bitch,’ ‘Chaplain Phil: Gay, Straight, Whatever,’ etc.) It’s awful and wonderful at the same time, and rarely boring, although the personalities run together after a while. It just feels completely, deeply real. What’s so fascinating about the book is its interest in the complexity of issues, such as the extent to which male-male sex is pervasive in the military, no matter the declared sexual orientation. In fact, Zeeland makes the point that lifting the gay ban will probably mean less open homoeroticism and less actual sexual contact between men. Zeeland also explores at some length the elaborate hypocrisies on which the system is built. . . . You’ll want to read this book. And you’ll be looking forward to the next installment in the series."

"Zeeland has produced a book of scholarly value that is also erotically steamy. 'Sailors and Sexual Identity' is smart, subtle, sophisticated, and free of self-referential, puffed-up queerology."

"Composed of lengthy interviews concerning the (homo)sexual lives of 13 sailors with the US Navy, this book opens a significant aspect of the gays in the military debate, including the impact of that debate on those most affected by it, through documenting the extensive sexual networks, relationships, and experiences of men recently or currently serving in the US Armed Forces. [The sailors’] stories raise many significant issues, e.g., how does homosexual expression change in an environment where it is officially repressed and denied? Does the military ban paradoxically institutionalize homoerotic rituals by freeing military men from being labeled ‘gay’? And, how do common sense ideas of ‘gay’ and ‘straight’ function in an environment of considerable behavioral fluidity?"