Polyamory-Related Books

What is Polyamory?

Polyamory (or poly for short) is the practice of having multiple, honest, loving relationships at the same time. Unlike affairs, poly relationships are intended to be honest and consensual. The range of polyamorous relationships is large and ranges from somewhat casual to extremely committed (including group marriage) situations.

Unlike the image of free love in the 1960s, the polyamory community understands that creating multiple strong relationships is a difficult task and requires some thought and care. And unlike the image of swinging, polyamory tends to focus on relationships and love, instead of focusing primarily on additional sexual outlets.

Which is not to say that sex isn't an important benefit of some, perhaps many, polyamorous relationships. Duh!

Unfortunately, we live in a world where traditional monogamy is often more sometimes more of a facade than a reality. Polyamory provides a way for people to honor their desire to be initimate with many people, while letting them preserve their values, their self-respect, their sense of committment, and their long-term relationships.

Sound crazy? Five years ago I might have agreed. And I won't deny that it didn't take some time and adjustment for everything to be comfortable to everyone. But, as a result, I have a wonderful wife of many years, a girlfriend of two years, both of whom I love dearly, and an occasional friendly date with two of my intimiate friends (one male, one female). My two main partners are both good friends and we definitely share some sense of family together. Everyone is comfortable and satisified with the situation. Wouldn't you agree that that situation was worth some effort?

I've put together this site to provide a set of reviews of books related to polyamory, as well as to provide a place for other readers to add their own views. It is not intended as a complete introduction to polyamory. An excellent set of resources is available at The alt.polyamory Home Page . Finally, I have a somewhat more personal site which includes essays about polyamory, bisexuality, and related topics.