What makes this book so appealing is the way Espinoza combines his own experiences of cruising from adolescence to the present, and as a Chicano, with a cogent analysis of the role of cruising; an antihegemonic activity against a patriarchal system—and he writes beautifully ... Recommended for LGBT and contemporary culture collections.

One of the most interesting discussions in the book asks whether the contemporary hook-up culture promoted by apps like Grindr and Scruff is an extension of cruising or an entirely different practice ... there are many thorny questions raised by the culture of cruising that Cruising side-steps or simply does not ask. Cruising is a relatively brief book and clearly meant to be celebratory. As such, it is hardly the last word on the subject. If it was simply a memoir, based on Espinoza’s positive experience of cruising, it could be taken at face value. But cruising as the practice of men having sex in public spaces raises some tough questions and, because the book calls itself a history, however brief, a reader might legitimately ask why they were not addressed as part of that history ... As a memoir, Cruising is touching, resonant, and deeply felt. As a history of cruising it is, if not definitive, a provocative starting point. Whatever its omissions, Espinoza’s book invites us to think about the right to freedom of sexual expression and where it fits in within the larger aims of the LGBTQ community. That’s certainly a discussion worth having.

Memoir is the powerful heart of Espinoza’s book, the places where he makes us feel the power of cruising as what he calls a 'cultural identifier' of gay experience, the act that marks us as constitutionally different from straight people. Other places in Cruising, Espinoza seems less engaged ... But when he takes us to the L.A. he knew, to the gayopolis of WeHo he experienced at 19, where bookstore owners thought nothing of displaying Inches magazine, Espinoza makes us feel the power of carving out queer spaces in the wider city. Espinoza also struggles with modern gay hookup apps (Grindr, Scruff, Growlr, BRO, Hornet, DaddyHunt) and how to place them in the history of cruising ... Cruising does better at capturing a moment fixed in analog time[.]

... a well-intentioned but clumsy Cruising fails to live up to the demands of the moment ... In lieu of hard evidence, [Spinoza] presents a portrait of same-sex interactions as they likely existed... In this way, Cruising too often becomes a meandering general history of the homosexual and/or same-sex-desiring body in its historical context, rather than a narrowly focused history of cruising as an act ... Cruising is most interesting when Espinoza lavishes attention on...long-overlooked nooks, crannies, and ephemera—but these moments also reveal a disheartening imbalance. Espinoza expends far too much energy setting the stage for these mini-histories, only to rush on to the next subject with the slightest of nods to how cruising worked within whatever social, economic, or political scene ... geosocial platforms are now a, if not the, primary arena for gay sex—and if we’re to understand their implications, we need a clear analysis of the larger historical trends of gentrification, assimilation, and legislation that pushed gay sex from the public sphere in the final decades of the twentieth century. Cruising declines to provide one.

... an inspired, greatest-hits tour of public bathrooms, bathhouses and wooded areas in cities the world over to reveal the scintillating backstory of anonymous gay sex and its evolution ... Whether for the newbie reader or the well-initiated, the slim paperback is a balanced compendium of lesser-known tidbits and often-reported pop culture moments (the Sen. Larry Craig scandal or George Michael’s arrest and rebirth as a gay icon, for example) that demonstrates the author’s enthusiasm and respect for his subject and provides a jumping-off point for further research. While some portions of Cruising feel glossed over...other sections crackle with detail.

In this enthusiastic exploration of the 'art' of gay cruising, Espinoza...provides a unique perspective on this furtive practice of coded signals and physical gestures geared toward spontaneous desire and availability ...The author incorporates intriguing profiles of former cruisers into his research material, creating a narrative that puts human faces to a subject that may seem bizarre to some readers and captivating to others. Espinoza weaves into the historical material vivid recollections from his own coming-of-age as a closeted Mexican youth ... Espinoza’s research is richly referential ... Espinoza candidly inserts himself into this striking examination with memories of his own cruising adventures and segments of stimulating commentary on gay liberation and the tenets of stealthy sexuality. Provocative, curious, and noteworthy.