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scottiesandbooks's review against another edition
4.0
Well as hard as it was to read at times (very dry and found myself drifting off instead of actually paying attention to the book), it was definitely worth the read!
Robert Beachy provides an insightful and well researched of the history of homosexual Berlin pre world war 2. It’s funny how when we think of homosexual reform we always look to America (as with everything they think they did everything first). However, learning about Karl Heinrich Ulrichs and how in the 1800s he stood up and addressed parliament about his sexuality and how anti- sodomy laws should be revoked and Magnus Hirschfeld who created a safe haven for all walks of LGBTQ life, creating an INSTITUTE for them early 1900s and spending his life trying to abolish paragraph 175 shows that the battle was going on long before the likes of Stonewall riots.
Such an important book, although I feel it could have been more easily written hence only 4 stars.
Robert Beachy provides an insightful and well researched of the history of homosexual Berlin pre world war 2. It’s funny how when we think of homosexual reform we always look to America (as with everything they think they did everything first). However, learning about Karl Heinrich Ulrichs and how in the 1800s he stood up and addressed parliament about his sexuality and how anti- sodomy laws should be revoked and Magnus Hirschfeld who created a safe haven for all walks of LGBTQ life, creating an INSTITUTE for them early 1900s and spending his life trying to abolish paragraph 175 shows that the battle was going on long before the likes of Stonewall riots.
Such an important book, although I feel it could have been more easily written hence only 4 stars.
amercier88's review against another edition
4.0
The looming cloud of the Nazi regime hung heavy over the story but I wasn't disappointed that Beachy didn't delve deeper. WE all knew what happened to homosexuals and other people under the Nazi regime. What I found most fascinating about this book was that conversations that we consider new and enlightening were being had as far back as the mid-19th century! As a gay man, this book really made me appreciate that the fight for our rights, respect, and recognition has a richer and longer history than I ever knew. This book is short enough of a read for any lover of history and/or LGBT issues to easily take on and enjoy.
zefrog's review against another edition
4.0
Beyond the evocation of late 19th/early 20th century Berlin, this is first and foremost a history of the emergence of homosexuality as an identity and the true beginnings of the LGBT rights movement, decades before Stonewall. A rather fascinating and highly informative read in the company of the unrecognised giants (on whose shoulders we most definitely stand) that are Karl Heinrich Ulrichs and Magnus Hirshfeld.
eddie's review against another edition
5.0
This brilliant history was on target to get 4 stars from me -the extra star is for the magnificent last chapter and epilogue outlining the interaction and in some respects weird symbiosis between the rise of the Nazis and the various competing strands of gay liberationism in Berlin. Quite shockingly, a poll of gay men in Berlin at the time found that 30% supported Hitler - but Beachy gives convincing explanations of how such mistakenly self-destructive support came about. It is very sobering to consider Berlin's legendarily permissive sexual scene with a vibrant gay press, cultural and political organisations, 100s of gay bars, was all wiped away and buried so far by the Nazis that little memory of it all exists. Beachy deserves congrats for bringing it back to light and doing it such justice.
giuseppepepe's review against another edition
4.0
Does get a bit repetitive but extremely informative and interesting glimpse into the creation of homosexuality as an identity.
theresa1b193's review against another edition
2.0
A great overview and an interesting read. I'm definitely gonna read it a second time and cant wait to read some books off of the sources list. Sometimes I wish there would have been " " around certain words and the author definitelly should have done some research about how to talk about trans people. He might have gotten all of that straight from the source but we now know more than ~100 years ago and should behave accordingly. It only takes a few more sentences. (Not sure if it's only the German translation or if it's not in the original version but my point still stands since I'm reviewing the translated book).
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