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49th out of 219 books
—
129 voters
A Queer History of the United States
Winner of a 2012 Stonewall Book Award in nonfiction
The first book to cover the entirety of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender history, from pre-1492 to the present.
In the 1620s, Thomas Morton broke from Plymouth Colony and founded Merrymount, which celebrated same-sex desire, atheism, and interracial marriage. Transgender evangelist Jemima Wilkinson, in the early 1800...more
The first book to cover the entirety of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender history, from pre-1492 to the present.
In the 1620s, Thomas Morton broke from Plymouth Colony and founded Merrymount, which celebrated same-sex desire, atheism, and interracial marriage. Transgender evangelist Jemima Wilkinson, in the early 1800...more
Hardcover, 312 pages
Published
May 10th 2011
by Beacon Press
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A Queer History of the United States takes the Schoolhouse Rock approach to surveying queer culture in America. It's fast-moving, it hits all the expected high and low points, it's affirming, and it never explores its subject beyond cartoon depth. All it really lacks is a catchy tune.
Though the book alleges to cover a period of time spanning from before 1492 to the present, its pre-colonial and colonial history is at best sketchy—in fact, just about anything before the turn of the twentieth cen...more
Though the book alleges to cover a period of time spanning from before 1492 to the present, its pre-colonial and colonial history is at best sketchy—in fact, just about anything before the turn of the twentieth cen...more
Early in my coming out I read Michael Bronski's The Pleasure Principle. I purchased it at Half Price Books. At the time I was trying to learn as much as a I could about gay culture and history. The Pleasure Principle was probably the first book of queer thought I read, arguing against conformity and for the more radical liberation perspective. It deeply influenced my thinking. Despite living a rather conservative lifestyle, my views, writings, and public advocacy have encouraged more radical lib...more
Would be five stars if not for some significant flaws. I would recommend this for any introductory course on US history, as long as it was supplemented with other texts such as The Transgender Studies Reader.
Bronski does a fair job including gender variance in the beginning, but peters out somewhere around the 1940s and never adequately recovers (not even a mention of Christine Jorgensen? Really?). Yet even the early mentions could have been handled better; for instance, Bronski says in the text...more
Bronski does a fair job including gender variance in the beginning, but peters out somewhere around the 1940s and never adequately recovers (not even a mention of Christine Jorgensen? Really?). Yet even the early mentions could have been handled better; for instance, Bronski says in the text...more
I read this book on the recommendation of two colleagues in the welcoming church movement, and I'm very happy I did. It's easy to feel disconnected from a historical movement and community when doing LGBT activism, especially as a young person, but Bronski's book aligns what's happening now with people living their lives differently from the heterosexual, cisgender norm across nearly 500 years of American history.
I very much appreciate that he keeps figures within their historical context- he d...more
I very much appreciate that he keeps figures within their historical context- he d...more
A Queer History of the United States is useful only for gaining a brief outline of how the homosexual culture has affected the country as a whole. The research is shoddy and often uses accepted 'facts' that are actually false or at the least unprovable - James Dean was a homosexual, Eleanor Roosevelt had lesbian affairs. The writing itself is dry and finishing the book was a chore. I recommend the book only to those who are interested in using it to further research the homosexual culture - if y...more
A Queer History is a great idea, poorly executed. Throughout, both Bronski's prose and his scholarship are very weak. While Brosnki does offer a decent survey of queerdom in America, both arguments and facts are hazily sketched. Then again... he still got me to tear up, as I always, do, when I read about Stonewall, even as the few paragraphs he dedicated to it were so poor.
This is an interesting look at the history of American LGBT through various movements and social changes throughout the years. While I may not agree with all the author's theories or conclusions, I did find the information fascinating and thought provoking. Add the numerous reference materials, fictional and factual, and it made the read more than worthwhile.
An outline of mostly gay & lesbian history in America (limited attention on transgender/sexual history). Touching on the effects of politics, religion, economics, war, gender roles, and medicine on the development, visibility, and shape of LBGT lives. Best supplemented by more in-depth publications, but a good starting place.
I thought this was a very good survey of the subject, and I thought the most interesting point he made was about the two approaches to the gay rights/liberation movement. One anarchist, one assimilative. I also felt the last chapter and the epilogue were a strong finish, but that may be because it was about the times during which I was alive, so I had a personal response to it.
Really excellent history going back to Native Americans, with the Epilogue updating current history (last chapter ends around 1990...a lot has happened since then!). Fascinating look at gender roles in America and how they have shaped our Country.
Very well researched I'm sure...but BORING AS HELL. If you have to write a paper then this is great source material but hard to slog thru. And I've read all 37 Shakespeare plays. So that's sayin somethin.
Very interesting book, a little dry in the first half. It's a very interesting look at the history of the queer culture - for example, how racism set the stage for the US to treat a specific group of "others" differently and how easily we were pushed into one of these groups.
It's Pride Month so I want to read things that mirror the LGBT experience. This wasn't a traditional history book. It reminded me more of how Howard Zinn writes history.
I think this a very important history that needs to be told. However, one of my issues with many history books is that the evidence excerpts are too long and too numerous. When I read a historical evaluation I prefer to see the authors thoughts and analysis, rather than long excerpts from source material...the purpose of an annotated bibliography is to give access and notes to that source material. I also did not like the authors choice to end the history on the AIDS epidemic, all too often hist...more
A good read for those of you who don't know this stuff. I knew a lot (most) of it, but I still found it kept my attention. The overall thesis is different than what one might expect nowadays.
A good, not-too-long overview of LGBT history in the U.S., which is just what I was looking for as background reading for my new volunteer job at an LGBT center.
One complaint: So many typos! I think this is the most typos I've encountered in a single book.
One complaint: So many typos! I think this is the most typos I've encountered in a single book.
Dense,but a well written history.
Very academic and dry for me. A DNF.
Spanning European colonization to 1990 and clocking in at only 240 pages, this really just a gloss. It does it what it is supposed to but considering it took months and months to finish it wasn’t exactly setting off flash bulbs in my mind. Stonewall gets about five sentences, but there is whole chapter on how World War II set the pieces in place for the social upheavals of the 1960s.
Dec 20, 2012
Allen
is currently reading it
I would recommend this to anyone who teaches American history or American lit, and to anyone else who's really interested in LGBTQ issues. It's a a history, and thus not a real page-turner--thus my not having completed it yet--but it IS interesting and clearly written.
Aug 03, 2011
Tracy
marked it as did-not-finish
I've been on a nonfiction kick lately. Thought this one would be interesting.
It probably was, but I don't have the time to devote to it right now. Maybe later!
It probably was, but I don't have the time to devote to it right now. Maybe later!
My one disappointment with this book is the relatively little attention it brought to transgender history. Other than that, great and well-researched volume.
May 20, 2013
Allisonjam
marked it as to-read
May 18, 2013
Vanessa
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Sheila
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May 15, 2013
Matt
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May 11, 2013
Lisa
marked it as to-read
May 10, 2013
Ale
marked it as to-read
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Michael Bronski has written extensively on LGBT issues for four decades. He has published widely in the LGBT and mainstream press and his work appears in numerous anthologies. He is a Senior Lecturer in Women’s and Gender Studies and Jewish Studies at Dartmouth College.
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Jun 18, 2011 10:39am