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straaawbs's review against another edition
5.0
This book should probably have been called something like Making Gay History in America. Despite not saying so on the cover, that's the only country it deals with.
Despite that minor point, this is the best book I've read in a while. It's told through a series of interviews with different players in the gay rights movement, covering the 1950s right up until the very early 2000s. This book gave me a new perspective, as although I was angered by the passing of Prop 8 in California recently, when I read about the total lack of rights for gays and lesbians in the '50s and '60s I was encouraged that we will achieve equality sooner rather than later. We've come such a long way in such a short time.
Because the book is told through a series of first-hand accounts, it's extremely readable. We hear directly from people who were out there risking it all for gay and lesbian rights, there's a nice personal touch and it stopped the book from being a dry text.
We see the first gay organizations being set up in the '50s, and I was amazed by the bravery of the people who went out there and were open about their sexuality in a time when the world was incredibly hostile toward gays and lesbians and there were no laws in place to protect them from discrimination, from losing their jobs because they were gay, being arrested for walking into a bar, etc.
The movement gains more strength throughout the '60s and '70s, before suffering a major setback in the '80s with the onset of the AIDS epidemic. Although AIDS is only touched upon lightly, we still see how many lives it affected, and I felt so sad while reading this section of the book to think how many incredible and brave people were lost to that illness. I certainly intend to go on to read [b:And the Band Played On Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic|28212|And the Band Played On Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic|Randy Shilts|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1167934916s/28212.jpg|1080309] by [a:Randy Shilts|15877|Randy Shilts|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1221789810p2/15877.jpg].
Throughout the '90s we get to see the gay rights movement played out on the national stage, as gay people win more rights and LGBT issues begin to have an impact on politics and presidential campaigns. A couple of passages even made me look more kindly upon John McCain!
This book made me so proud to be such an adamant supporter of gay rights. At many points throughout the book I was completely welled up with emotion and pride to read about these courageous people who risked everything and fought so hard for the gay rights movement.
I took this book out from the library, but I'm definitely going to buy my own copy now so that I can read it again and highlight all those passages I found particularly inspirational.
Despite that minor point, this is the best book I've read in a while. It's told through a series of interviews with different players in the gay rights movement, covering the 1950s right up until the very early 2000s. This book gave me a new perspective, as although I was angered by the passing of Prop 8 in California recently, when I read about the total lack of rights for gays and lesbians in the '50s and '60s I was encouraged that we will achieve equality sooner rather than later. We've come such a long way in such a short time.
Because the book is told through a series of first-hand accounts, it's extremely readable. We hear directly from people who were out there risking it all for gay and lesbian rights, there's a nice personal touch and it stopped the book from being a dry text.
We see the first gay organizations being set up in the '50s, and I was amazed by the bravery of the people who went out there and were open about their sexuality in a time when the world was incredibly hostile toward gays and lesbians and there were no laws in place to protect them from discrimination, from losing their jobs because they were gay, being arrested for walking into a bar, etc.
The movement gains more strength throughout the '60s and '70s, before suffering a major setback in the '80s with the onset of the AIDS epidemic. Although AIDS is only touched upon lightly, we still see how many lives it affected, and I felt so sad while reading this section of the book to think how many incredible and brave people were lost to that illness. I certainly intend to go on to read [b:And the Band Played On Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic|28212|And the Band Played On Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic|Randy Shilts|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1167934916s/28212.jpg|1080309] by [a:Randy Shilts|15877|Randy Shilts|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1221789810p2/15877.jpg].
Throughout the '90s we get to see the gay rights movement played out on the national stage, as gay people win more rights and LGBT issues begin to have an impact on politics and presidential campaigns. A couple of passages even made me look more kindly upon John McCain!
This book made me so proud to be such an adamant supporter of gay rights. At many points throughout the book I was completely welled up with emotion and pride to read about these courageous people who risked everything and fought so hard for the gay rights movement.
I took this book out from the library, but I'm definitely going to buy my own copy now so that I can read it again and highlight all those passages I found particularly inspirational.
dianna_reads's review against another edition
This book is trying to be complete history of the gay civil rights movement and every single person discussed is white. Not a single person of color is mentioned. There's also no trans, bisexual, or asexual representation.
tortue_abroad's review against another edition
4.0
I set a pretty low bar for this book to include any people beyond the white cis monsexual norm, and was pleasantly surprised at some points. I am hungry for any queer history though, to be honest, and found it an important documentation project with a lot of interesting characters. My personal favorite is the guy that sent his gay magazine directly to government officials including Hoover and when the FBI contacted his group telling them to take the FBI off the list they replied along the lines of 'take us of yours first'.
theayeaye's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
A fascinating oral history of the American gay civil rights movement. Eric Marcus does a lovely job of presenting politically diverse people and viewpoints. I love that he centers their voices and their experiences without interjecting a unifying narrative. The book lets people speak for themselves, which shows Marcus's deftness for interviewing, editing and presentation.
The book presents key people who were part of the gay civil rights movement. Rather than bridging their perspectives into a historical march of progress, we see a movement full of passionate people with different priorities and perspectives, people who often fought among themselves and fought alongside each other. Making Gay History does what I wish all historical texts could do: the book introduces us to the people who were there and how their disparate views coalesced into progress.
I read this book cover to cover and found the early sections a slough to get through. If you find history books tough (like I do) I would suggest picking up this book and reading a few stories here and there, and skipping to periods of time that you're interested in learning more about. For me, the book was slow until the period around the 1970's, but from that section on, I was totally hooked.
The book presents key people who were part of the gay civil rights movement. Rather than bridging their perspectives into a historical march of progress, we see a movement full of passionate people with different priorities and perspectives, people who often fought among themselves and fought alongside each other. Making Gay History does what I wish all historical texts could do: the book introduces us to the people who were there and how their disparate views coalesced into progress.
I read this book cover to cover and found the early sections a slough to get through. If you find history books tough (like I do) I would suggest picking up this book and reading a few stories here and there, and skipping to periods of time that you're interested in learning more about. For me, the book was slow until the period around the 1970's, but from that section on, I was totally hooked.
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