gorner considered the book well-written, and credited levay with merging "evolutionary theory, endocrinology, molecular genetics and cognitive psychology into a synthesis that is brilliant and entertaining." mcleish praised levay for his criticism of freud, and for outlining the "current state of knowledge and research on the neurobiology of sexuality" in a "lucid, friendly and comprehensible" style. however, he also wrote that levay's arguments about homosexuality "become a touch obsessive." offit called the book "elegant" and described it as "engaging and professional--a work of stunning scientific scholarship enhanced by gracious style and modesty." however, he noted that levay was not "able to "prove" the biological basis of homosexuality", and that levay's findings on inah 3 could "set us back as a society" by suggesting that homosexuality is abnormal. friar credited levay with "superb writing skills" and "comprehensive knowledge of neurobiology", and called his book "concise, thoughtful, informative" and "interesting". however, he criticized levay for giving insufficient attention to lesbianism, for the lack of illustrations in his book, and for using references sparingly. gregory wrote that the book was "very carefully written, with clear logical threads" and "the statement of a first-rate scientist on issues of personal and social importance".