Conduct Unbecoming: Gays and Lesbians in the U.S. MilitaryThe definitive book on lesbians and gay men in the US military. Randy Shilts, author of the classic documentary history of the AIDS epidemic And The Band Played On, was acclaimed for his ability to take epic histories and molding them into gripping, intimate narratives. Conduct Unbecoming, his groundbreaking exploration of lesbians and gays in the military, came out of hundreds of interviews conducted with servicepeople at all levels of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps and intense research uncovering thousands of documents resulting in a unique history of gays in the military as well as the persecution of gays in the military. Conduct Unbecoming will leave readers moved and imbued with a better understanding of the pressing situation in our nation's military. "A sober, thoroughly researched and engrossingly readable history on the subject. [Shilts's] chronicle is excellent military history, closely woven with an enthralling analysis of the changing definitions of sexuality and personal relationships in American society....[A] landmark book....Remarkable." --New York Times Book Review "A masterpiece of investigative reporting...Shilts has shown us the honor homosexuals have brought, and continue to bring, to the uniforms they wear and the country they serve." - Boston Globe "Gays, we are told, would damage morale in the military. Shilts documents the fact that morale has already been eaten away by hypocrisy, contradictions, and favoritism...This book will be to gay and lesbian liberation what Betty Friedan's was to early feminism or Rachel Carson's to ecological consciousness. No fair-minded person can read Conduct Unbecoming and consider the present system defensible. - USA Today "Gripping reading....the history of homosexual people and the movement for gay/lesbian equality in the United States can nowhere be more clearly told." - Los Angeles Times |
Contents
Manhood | 28 |
Rules | 37 |
The Spy | 47 |
A Name on the Wall | 55 |
Days of Future Passed | 72 |
Home Front | 79 |
The Sanction of the Victim | 87 |
INTERROGATIONS 19691975 | 99 |
Doreen | 400 |
Lesbian Vampires of Bavaria | 411 |
Straights | 422 |
In the Midnight Sky | 429 |
Heroes | 438 |
Exiles | 448 |
Blanket Parties | 459 |
So Costs | 468 |
Interrogations | 124 |
Indoctrination | 132 |
Dykes and Whores | 139 |
In Country | 148 |
Back to the World | 157 |
Winners | 166 |
STRAC | 176 |
Politics and Prejudice Part I | 184 |
The Letter | 196 |
TRIALS 19751976 | 205 |
The Color Purple Part 1 | 207 |
The Green Beret | 218 |
Freedom | 226 |
The MileWide Word | 234 |
Triangulates | 245 |
Adjectives and Nouns | 254 |
The Next Generation | 266 |
Transitions | 272 |
The Secret Report | 279 |
THE FAMILY 19771980 | 289 |
The Family | 291 |
Reaction | 298 |
The Gayest Ship in the Navy and Other Stories | 307 |
Women at Sea | 315 |
Angry Gods | 323 |
Memorial Day | 332 |
Glory Days | 341 |
Until After November | 352 |
Interregnum | 359 |
Future Imperfect | 365 |
LESBIAN VAMPIRES OF BAVARIA 19811985 | 373 |
Thoughtcrimes | 375 |
Surrender Dorothy | 383 |
Railroading | 393 |
SI HTLVIII | 477 |
Dykebusters | 489 |
Friends of Helga | 499 |
Where It All Begins | 510 |
HOMOVAC 19861990 | 515 |
Tom Dooleys Undesirable Discharge | 517 |
The Unquiet Death of Michael W Foster | 524 |
Countertrends | 531 |
The Color Purple Part 2 | 543 |
At the Buccaneer Motel | 556 |
Prisoner Number 73343 | 565 |
Foreign Affairs | 577 |
The Escape | 585 |
Naming Names | 593 |
The Soesterberg Affair | 603 |
Funerals | 614 |
Malleus Maleficarum | 625 |
The Release of Prisoner Number 17 | 639 |
Embarrassments in the Making | 647 |
Explosions | 656 |
Mockingbirds | 665 |
Official Government Sources | 674 |
Hearings | 686 |
Holding Actions | 697 |
Vindication | 706 |
The Fag Killer | 716 |
Convenience of the Government Part 2 | 723 |
PROMISES TO KEEP | 733 |
Politics and Prejudice Part 2 | 735 |
Tom Dooleys Honorable Discharge | 751 |
Notes on Sources | 755 |
Selected Bibliography | 785 |
789 | |
Other editions - View all
Conduct Unbecoming: Lesbians and Gays in the U.S. Military : Vietnam to the ... Randy Shilts No preview available - 1993 |
Common terms and phrases
Academy Addlestone administrative AIDS Air Force Base airman American antigay armed forces Armistead Maupin Army asked attorney became began believed Ben-Shalom Berg called captain Carole charges civilian Clayton Hartwig colonel commander court court-martial Danny Defense Department Documents Dooley enlisted federal female Frank Kameny friends gay activists gay community gay rights gay soldiers gay-rights going Hartwig hearing heterosexual homo homosexual honorable discharge HTLV-III interrogation Interview San investigation issue Jerry knew later lawyer Leonard Matlovich lesbian Lieutenant Marine Corps midshipman military military's months names National Naval Navy Navy's never night NIS agents Norton Sound Parris Island Pentagon Perry Watkins personnel President purge queer Randy Shilts recruits regulations Rosanbalm ROTC Ruth sailors San Francisco San Francisco Chronicle Secretary sergeant served sexual ship sodomy statement Steffan story talk told Truitt United Vietnam wanted Washington Washington Blade woman women York