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3.63 AVERAGE
3.63 AVERAGE
dark
funny
informative
medium-paced
This is just so dull and isn’t want it promised. I’m just under half way through and I can’t remember anything
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
funny
informative
medium-paced
An interesting introduction to some characters in gay history, a bit light on historical rigor but with some thought-provoking post-colonial reflections. I found myself frustrated by the flattening of details about people I had heard about, so I would not treat this as a definitive history of any of its subjects. And as others have noted, it is an odd collection of characters, mostly white and male but seemingly not intentionally, given the exceptions. I had not known it was based on a podcast, going in, but I think that explains both the fun, irreverent tone and the overall lack of cohesiveness and depth (which make sense if you're constantly having to make more rather than spending serious time researching and planning).
Read this if you want an entertaining taste of some historical queer people to read more about later, but do not look to it for a thorough historical understanding.
Read this if you want an entertaining taste of some historical queer people to read more about later, but do not look to it for a thorough historical understanding.
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
slow-paced
informative
reflective
slow-paced
A thorough investigation into the lives of histories less celebrated queer individuals and the interplay between the private and professional lives.
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
I've been waiting to read this for a while so was delighted when they had a copy available at my library. The narrator had a good voice - although there were a few moments were sentences were repeated but I'm not sure if that was an editing issue or a lack of signal issue with my phone. I typically listened while walking my dog so I didn't always have the best internet connection!
That said it didn't detract from my overall enjoyment of the book. I found some characters more interesting than others, largely based on the people being discussed. I wish there had been more queer women discussed (Margaret Mead was the only woman with a full chapter) , but given the title I wasn't actually expecting any!
I really enjoyed the deep-dive this offered into each figure, going from their childhood to the end of their life to explain the how and why behind their thoughts and actions. There was a good intersectional approach to each individual's lives and I liked the nuanced it offered.
Each chapter focuses on a different individual(s):
That said it didn't detract from my overall enjoyment of the book. I found some characters more interesting than others, largely based on the people being discussed. I wish there had been more queer women discussed (Margaret Mead was the only woman with a full chapter) , but given the title I wasn't actually expecting any!
I really enjoyed the deep-dive this offered into each figure, going from their childhood to the end of their life to explain the how and why behind their thoughts and actions. There was a good intersectional approach to each individual's lives and I liked the nuanced it offered.
Each chapter focuses on a different individual(s):
- Emperor Hadrian
- Pietro Aretino
- James VI
- Frederick the Great
- Jack Saul
- Roger Casement
- Lawrence of Arabia
- Friedrich Radszuweit and Ernst Röhm (the Bad Gays of Weimar Berlin)
- Margaret Mead
- J. Edgar Hoover and Roy Cohn (1950/60s Gay Liberation Movement in America)
- Yukio Mishima
- Philip Johnson
- Ronnie Kray
- Pim Fortuyn
My favourite chapters were: Emperor Hadrian, James VI, Frederick the Great, Jack Saul, Margaret Mead and Ronnie Kray.
slow-paced
informative
medium-paced