Queer America

A People’s GLBT History of the United States

A sweeping history of modern GLBT America, from the early twentieth century through the current fight for same-sex marriage

“[Queer America] . . . inspires with its tales of how much difference gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender lives have made.” —Leila Rupp, University of California, Santa Barbara

Placing GLBT people at the center of the history of the twentieth century, Vicki L. Eaklor’s Queer America: A People’s GLBT History of the 20th Century is a major new effort to popularize a long-overlooked chapter in the American experience.

Written in the tradition of Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States, Queer America provides a decade-by-decade overview of major issues and events in GLBT history including the Harlem Renaissance, changes in military policy, the Stonewall riots, organizations and alliances, AIDS, same-sex marriage, representation in the media, and legal battles. Eaklor brings the steady hand and perspective of an historian to the task of writing a sweeping work of narrative nonfiction that is both meaningful and relevant to all Americans.

Queer America includes a rich array of visual materials, including sidebars highlighting major debates and vignettes focusing on key individuals. A timeline and further reading sections conclude each chapter; a full bibliography and black-and-white images enhance the text. Queer America is destined to become an indispensable resource for students, teachers, and general readers alike.

Praise

“Lively . . . provides fascinating evidence that transformations in the social organization of gender and sexuality are central to American history and everybody’s history.”
—Jonathan Ned Katz, historian and co-director of OutHistory.org
“Covering politics, law, society, and culture, this crisply written book promises “one&ndashstop shopping” and delivers it. Highly recommended.”
—Margot Canaday, Princeton University, and author of The Straight State
“Combining political, popular cultural, literary, and artistic examples and stories, Eaklor gives us a fascinating account of our history.”
—Bettina Aptheker, University of California, Santa Cruz, and author of Intimate Politics

News and Reviews

VICKI L. EAKLOR (1954-2018)

Goodreads Reviews