Victory
The Triumphant Gay Revolution
Published on 20. June 2012
Book
Hardback
464 pages
978-0-06-196550-0 (ISBN)
Description
"Victory" is the story of how a band of extraordinary individuals brought on a revolution that, in forty years, has transformed American life and our notions of human identity: how we find love and reproduce. When the modern struggle for gay rights erupted most notably at a bar called Stonewall in New York City's Greenwich Village, in the summer of 1969, most religious traditions condemned homosexuality; psychiatric experts called people attracted to others of the same sex crazy, and forty-nine states outlawed sex between people of the same gender. Drawing on rich archival material and in-depth interviews, political columnist Linda Hirshman chronicles the Gay Rights movement, viewing it within the tradition of American justice and freedom. As she persuasively argues, it was-and continues to be-a battle of citizens struggling to define themselves and take their rightful place in society. Hirshman shows how the fight for gay rights has changed the American landscape for all citizens - blurring rigid gender lines, altering the shared culture, and broadening our definitions of family.
While much has been written about particular aspects of the movement - the Plague Years, Stonewall, Harvey Milk, marriage and domestic partnerships - no one has told the full political story. Asserting their goodness while admitting their difference, facing every social adversary - church, state, medical establishment - this focused group of activists transformed the world. From the Communist cross dresser Harry Hay in 1948 to the beautiful young female Senator from New York in 2010, the victory involved dozens of brilliant, idiosyncratic, vibrant characters. Moving from the streets of New York to the disease-ridden jungles of Zaire to the Supreme Court of Massachusetts, covering issues from the Stonewall Uprising to the AIDS crisis to the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, "Victory" sheds new light on this essential chapter in our nation's history that is sure to shape its future.
While much has been written about particular aspects of the movement - the Plague Years, Stonewall, Harvey Milk, marriage and domestic partnerships - no one has told the full political story. Asserting their goodness while admitting their difference, facing every social adversary - church, state, medical establishment - this focused group of activists transformed the world. From the Communist cross dresser Harry Hay in 1948 to the beautiful young female Senator from New York in 2010, the victory involved dozens of brilliant, idiosyncratic, vibrant characters. Moving from the streets of New York to the disease-ridden jungles of Zaire to the Supreme Court of Massachusetts, covering issues from the Stonewall Uprising to the AIDS crisis to the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, "Victory" sheds new light on this essential chapter in our nation's history that is sure to shape its future.
Reviews / Votes
"An astonishing work that seamlessly weaves together multiple stories into one authoritative volume. Highly recommended for political scientists, civil rights activists, and students of LGBT history." -- Library Journal (starred review) "Hirshman has produced a remarkable history of the gay-rights movement in America by chronicling many of the people and events that shaped it. She has a smart and engaging style, which is serious but not ponderous... with new clarity and simple, fresh insight." -- NewYorker.com "Linda Hirshman has written an important and necessary book that should be read in every school and every home in the country." -- Amanda Foreman, author of A World on Fire "I picked this book up one night and never got to sleep. Victory is an epic account of our movement's progress; a beautifully written and fast moving narrative that is poignant, humorous, and inspiring." -- Cleve Jones, Founder of The NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt "As popular history, Victory excels. Hirshman is a nimble storyteller with an agile curatorial eye for what matters... Exemplary... I find Victory to be an astute jolt, as remarkable for its emotional punch as for its historical insight." -- Rich Benjamin, New York Times Book Review "Sharp and cogent throughout... Victory is ultimately a deeply moving narrative of a not-quite-finished freedom struggle." -- Boston Globe "Given that the gay rights saga is very much in process, the ending of Hirshman's book is a cliffhanger, but she does a masterful job of making her readers, whether they're familiar with the material or not, want to know what happens next." -- Los Angeles Times "Exhilarating... As an overview of recent American LGBT history, Victory has plenty to recommend it... A good starting point for learning about recent gay history." -- San Francisco Chronicle "Victory is one of the most important (and readable) gay-history texts around." -- Philadelphia City Paper "Victory tells the fascinating inside story of how gay activists changed America for the better, not just for themselves but for everyone. There's inspiration here for everyone who wants a fairer, more equal society-- and plenty of hope as well." -- Katha Pollitt, Nation columnist "Hirshman ... offers perceptive comparisons between the gay-rights movement and other, concurrent movements for equality." -- Kirkus Reviews "This exuberant history of arguably the final and most difficult civil rights struggle relates, in surprisingly upbeat fashion, the fight 'to slowly bend the arc of history toward justice' for gay men and women... Undeniably inspiring." -- Publishers Weekly "Before he died, gay rights hero Arthur Evans told Linda Hirshman to tell our story. And she does so brilliantly--with insight, passion and the keen eye of a fierce social scientist. And what a story it is! Arthur Evans would be proud." -- Eric Marcus, author of Making Gay History and What If Someone I Know Is Gay? "Linda Hirshman's Victory is the chronicle that the brilliant, unremitting gay movement deserves. Deeply informed with human detail, political theory, and legal analysis alike, it moves fluidly out of the closet to the precincts ... A genuine, sparkling tour de force." -- Todd Gitlin, author of Occupy Nation "A compulsively readable mix of philosophy, social history and journalism, Hirshman's [book] provides an invaluable understanding of the people across the years who have worked so passionately to increase liberty and justice in our union." -- Rebecca Traister, author of Big Girls Don't Cry "Hirshman has done a great service in putting the question of morality in this movement on the table. Though important chapters are yet to be written, this book will help the world to see that gay is good-and getting better." -- Slate "Victory's tone is thoughtful and modest, exploring large themes through individuals' stories... The book gives a moving picture of a history many won't know." -- American Prospect "An inclusive, fascinating history of the gay rights movement that provides fertile grounds for passionate debate." -- Shelf Awareness "Her analysis of what makes social movements succeed is always thoughtful and sometimes profound... The result is always entertaining and frequently exhilarating." -- BusinessWeek "Hirshman provides an excellent and very readable history that is buttressed by an impressive amount of research and personal interviews. -- Edge "Linda Hirshman delivers a vivid history of a movement that was invented, out of nothing, circa 1950... One advantage of Hirshman's book-breezily written, but kinetic in its storytelling-is that it honors the activism of the pre-Stonewall era." -- The New YorkerMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Publishing group
HarperCollins Publishers Inc
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 36 mm
Weight
671 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-06-196550-0 (9780061965500)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Linda Hirshman is a lawyer, a cultural historian, and the author of Victory: The Triumphant Gay Revolution and many other books. She received her JD from the University of Chicago Law School and her PhD in philosophy from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and has taught philosophy and women's studies at Brandeis University. Her writing has appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, Slate, Newsweek, the Daily Beast, and POLITICO. She lives in Arizona and New York City.