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machka_llesan's review
1.0
I picked up this book hoping for a well-written recollection of the gay rights movement. Instead I got anecdotes about Cleve Jones' sexual encounters and drug usage. If Jones had been a young gay during the 2010s, he'd be one of those insufferable, superficial, sex-obsessed, size queen, drug-using gays that you go to extreme lengths to avoid on Grindr. It really is unfortunate that his writing and personality embody every negative stereotype of gay men. Granted, the second half of the book gets to the actual topic of the gay rights movement, but at that point Jones had already lost me.
If Jones had wanted to tell us about the importance of the movement, he could have done without (and I'm certain I've missed many):
Pg. 12: Smoking joints in a high school parking lot
Pg. 25: "...if you were lucky, out would come the perfect boy with a big cock..."
Pg. 28: Exchanges sex for a street map with a gas station clerk.
Pg. 38: "...As the guests arrived I added my secret ingredient: LSD."
Pg. 49: Smoking hashish and rolling joints in a park.
Pg. 57: Having random sex in a bathhouse.
Pg. 58: "...Tommy had a dick like a mule."
Pg. 61: Taking psilocybin mushrooms and driving.
Pg. 62: Has sex with a hitchhiker.
Pg. 64: Gets a blow job from a stranger in Montreal.
Pg. 70: Has sex in a cemetery with a stranger. (I wish I were kidding.)
Pg. 74: Sexual encounter with a stranger on a train.
Pg. 80: Has apparently loved someone else this whole time.
Pg. 82: Sexual encounter with stranger on a beach.
Pg. 86: Has sex with acquaintance soon after landing in Egypt.
Pg. 90: Has a "low-key affair" in Innsbruck.
Pg. 96: Friend claims he'll bring back 5-6 kilos of hashish from Afghanistan.
Pg. 100: Regularly having sex after clubbing.
Pg. 107: Got high and ate a lot.
Pg. 117: Has sex with his former lover's current boyfriend.
Pg. 121: Marveling at/smoking hashish blocks.
Pg. 122: Does LSD and describes the trip for two pages.
If Jones had wanted to tell us about the importance of the movement, he could have done without (and I'm certain I've missed many):
Pg. 12: Smoking joints in a high school parking lot
Pg. 25: "...if you were lucky, out would come the perfect boy with a big cock..."
Pg. 28: Exchanges sex for a street map with a gas station clerk.
Pg. 38: "...As the guests arrived I added my secret ingredient: LSD."
Pg. 49: Smoking hashish and rolling joints in a park.
Pg. 57: Having random sex in a bathhouse.
Pg. 58: "...Tommy had a dick like a mule."
Pg. 61: Taking psilocybin mushrooms and driving.
Pg. 62: Has sex with a hitchhiker.
Pg. 64: Gets a blow job from a stranger in Montreal.
Pg. 70: Has sex in a cemetery with a stranger. (I wish I were kidding.)
Pg. 74: Sexual encounter with a stranger on a train.
Pg. 80: Has apparently loved someone else this whole time.
Pg. 82: Sexual encounter with stranger on a beach.
Pg. 86: Has sex with acquaintance soon after landing in Egypt.
Pg. 90: Has a "low-key affair" in Innsbruck.
Pg. 96: Friend claims he'll bring back 5-6 kilos of hashish from Afghanistan.
Pg. 100: Regularly having sex after clubbing.
Pg. 107: Got high and ate a lot.
Pg. 117: Has sex with his former lover's current boyfriend.
Pg. 121: Marveling at/smoking hashish blocks.
Pg. 122: Does LSD and describes the trip for two pages.
emmaconghaile's review
5.0
This book could very well serve as a crash course for young queer people in the history of the gay rights movement from roughly 1970 to 2015. As someone who had known only bits and pieces of this history, this book was amazing in expanding my knowledge of the fights and struggles my own community went through in the years leading up to today. Cleve Jones is a very engaging and masterful writer, and i felt connected to all of the many characters we meet throughout this memoir. Overall, i highly recommend for anyone who would like to learn recent lgbtq+ history through a personalized lens.
lottie1803's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
rainbowbookworm's review
3.0
I enjoyed this memoir by an activist who worked with Harvey Milk and ended up envisioning the AIDS quilt.
punk_flower_child's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
aspen_moon's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.0
josiebrown's review
5.0
really truly inspirational
the first half didn't have me as hooked (though it was still exciting), but then as he got more involved in the movement, i was hooked on every page. Hearing his account of the AIDs epidemic as well as his direct involvement of so many historical events, i was surprised i hadn't heard of his name before. in my eyes, he is an american hero. he is an amazing, kind, brave individual who inspires me maybe more than anyone else i've ever learned about. everyone needs to hear his story.
the first half didn't have me as hooked (though it was still exciting), but then as he got more involved in the movement, i was hooked on every page. Hearing his account of the AIDs epidemic as well as his direct involvement of so many historical events, i was surprised i hadn't heard of his name before. in my eyes, he is an american hero. he is an amazing, kind, brave individual who inspires me maybe more than anyone else i've ever learned about. everyone needs to hear his story.
jake_powell's review
5.0
Reading Cleve’s narrative of the early years of the AIDS crisis certainly added a new perspective to my understanding of that period, but it was his recounting of the years between Stonewall and AIDS that will forever stay with me. The delight of San Francisco’s heigh day, the communities that lifted each other up, the fear, the nascent activism - those are years I think were missing from my understanding of queer history in a big way. I feel like I have a new grasp on the queer rights movement after reading this, and in many ways feel re-energized to get out there and find joy in the fight.