The New Joy of Gay Sex

As the authors suggest in their introduction, some readers, gay and straight, will be offended by this book's nonjudgmental, even accepting attitude toward ``the kinkier aspects of erotic life.'' These activities include sex with animals, sadomasochism and ``intergenerational love affairs'' such as the relationship between an 11-year-old boy and a 21-year-old man. These repugnant sections of this revised edition of a 1977 guide to male/male relationships mar an otherwise useful volume, with new and updated entries reflecting the AIDS crisis, safe-sex practices and the upsurge of gay political activism. An uninhibited, no-holds-barred sex manual illustrated with 60 explicit line drawings and eight pages of color paintings, the book is also intended as a guide to coming out for closeted gay men. The alphabetically arranged entries conversationally urge readers to delve into psychosocial aspects of gay life and to explore such topics as body image, fidelity, homophobia, jealousy, parents and racism in the gay community. Silverstein, a clinical psychologist, coauthored the original edition with Edmund White. Picano ( The Lure ) is a novelist. (Nov.)