This occurred at the same time as the more famous "Red Scare," but may have had an even more widespread and devastating effect. If one thing is clear, there is no one "great person" who lead the struggle, but it was a multi-generational effort of groups of people who stood up for equality.The book starts in the 1950s when gays & lesbians were not only in danger of arrests, beatings, robbery, and sexual assault at the hands of the local police "Morals Squad," but a "Lavender Scare" saw the exposure and firing of numerous gay & lesbian people working for the US government. This sprawling account covers numerous groups, individuals, movements, protests, and legal cases that changed the status for LGBTQ people. This book provides a historical overview of the gay rights movement in the United States from the post-World War II era to the present. A defining account, this is the most complete and authoritative book of its kind. “A compelling read of a little-known part of our nation’s history, and of individuals whose stories range from heart-wrenching to inspiring to enraging to motivational” ( Chicago Tribune), The Gay Revolution paints a nuanced portrait of the LGBT civil rights movement. Faderman discusses the protests in the 1960s the counter reaction of the 1970s and early eighties the decimated but united community during the AIDS epidemic and the current hurdles for the right to marriage equality. Against this dark backdrop, a few brave people began to fight back, paving the way for the revolutionary changes of the 1960s and beyond. The Gay Revolution begins in the 1950s, when gays and lesbians were criminals, psychiatrists saw them as mentally ill, churches saw them as sinners, and society victimized them with hatred. In “the most comprehensive history to date of America’s gay-rights movement” ( The Economist), Lillian Faderman tells this unfinished story through the dramatic accounts of passionate struggles with sweep, depth, and feeling. The fight for gay and lesbian civil rights-the years of outrageous injustice, the early battles, the heart-breaking defeats, and the victories beyond the dreams of the gay rights pioneers-is the most important civil rights issue of the present day. The sweeping story of the struggle for gay and lesbian rights-based on amazing interviews with politicians, military figures, and members of the entire LGBT community who face these challenges every day. “This is the history of the gay and lesbian movement that we’ve been waiting for.” - The Washington Post
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