This is a rare vintage and out of print copy of THE BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO CRUISING written by GEORGE MARSHALL in 1964, published and distributed by GUILD PRESS, LTD. This Digest sized book is bound with staples and is 55 pages in length. See photos for near mint condition.

Chapter II THE CHASE

“All right: now you have seen to it that you are properly equipped - garconniere, the long green, the right personality factors. Now you have everything ... but the gay. And that's not a hell of a lot of fun, is it?

Let's face it - to be a successful cruiser, a gay is vital. Where are they to be found? Everywhere. The problem is picking one who is: (a) Capable of being cruised and (b) Worth cruising. Item (b) is worth thinking about a bit. We have all met young lads whose clothes-often electric blue slacks with a tight crotch and rear-and manner proclaim that they are up for grabs. Such can be taken home and so to bed with little bother: but also with little reward for the true cruiser. As I pointed out earlier, sex is not the sole aim of cruising: the hunt of a worthy quarry is the main thing. Taking advantage of such a situation as this is not cruising, any more than wringing a chicken's neck is hunting-both are, so to speak, merely meat for the pot.

There are also the absolutely glorious-seeming creatures who may be pursued, and finally possessed, only to turn out to be extremely dull in all ways once they have been captured-trivial in conversation and unresponsive in bed. These are a touch more worthwhile sometimes, as you have at least had the pleasures of anticipation plus those of a successful campaign. If the lad of your choice, though a washout, is a movie star or member of some other group held in high esteem by your peers, you also gain a certain prestige.

But the cruiser's ideal is a gay who can be had (though not too easily) and once had is, one way or another, fun. Again, what kind of fun depends too much on individual taste to be discussed profitably at any length. The one pretty universal criterion is that he ought to be capable of enjoying the sexual act-with you. In addition, freedom of action, the gift of gab, money, imagination, self-control, a certain amount of acting capacity, discretion, and some taste are not bad to have at all.

Now, how are you to spot such a paragon? That is not as difficult as is avoiding the wrong ones, and I shall now list some types which should be shunned by the predatory male: anyone who is not impossible is worth pursuing, at least to some extent.

(1) Stay away from the lad who is always superbly dressed-not merely tastefully got-up, but dressed in high fashion. He is interested in himself and in his impact on other men, not in you.

(2) Dread a sub-category of this type: the tight-slacked, but only reasonably well dressed gay. For a good look at him, stroll through Times Square. Observe the tense face: the rigid twin spheres of the backside: the serpentine play of the crotch. This man is bitter and close to having no sexual feeling at all. It is my theory…”