The Gay Metropolis: The Landmark History of Gay Life in America

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Grove Press, Jun 10, 2007 - History - 418 pages
A New York Times Notable Book of the Year and winner of a Lambda Literary Award, The Gay Metropolis is a landmark saga of struggle and triumph that was instantly recognized as the most authoritative and substantial work of its kind. Filled with astounding anecdotes and searing tales of heartbreak and transformation, it provides a decade-by-decade account of the rise and acceptance of gay life and identity since the 1940s. From the making of West Side Story, the modern Romeo and Juliet tale written and staged by four gay men, to the catastrophic era of AIDS, Charles Kaiser recounts the true history of the gay movement with many never-before-told stories. Filled with dazzling characters -- including Leonard Bernstein, Montgomery Clift, Alfred Hitchcock, and John F. Kennedy, among many others -- this is a vital telling of American history, exciting and uplifting.
 

Contents

INTRODUCTION
ix
THE FORTIES
1
THE FIFTIES
63
THE SIXTIES
133
THE SEVENTIES
203
THE EIGHTIES
265
THE NINETIES
325
AFTERWORD
347
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
359
NOTES
363
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
393
INDEX
399
Copyright

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About the author (2007)

Charles Kaiser was born in Washington D.C. but was raised in several different cities throughout the world. He was schooled at Columbia University, where he later became a professor. Kaiser also taught at Princeton University and was a writer for the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Newsweek. Along with contributing articles to New York, Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, The Washington Post, and The New York Observer, Kaiser wrote two books: 1968 in America and Gay Metropolis: 1940-1996.

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