Best LGBT Non Fiction
And the Rainbow Award goes to:
1) Thomas Keith - Love Christopher Street (
)
The breadth of lives and experiences related in this book really touched me at both an intellectual and an emotional level. -Myranda
A historically and culturally significant resource... Not to mention a hell of a good read about Greenwich Village in the 1970s! -Alan
Paperback: 422 pages
Publisher: Vantage Point (June 1, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1936467348
ISBN-13: 978-1936467341
Amazon: Love, Christopher Street: Reflections of New York City
These twenty-six original essays by lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered writers include personal stories that span forty years of LGBTQ life in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island, and together create a queer love letter to New York City. Chapters in this volume range from personal anecdote to memoir, reportage, history, herstory, and daydream, as well as tributes to people, places, and events.
2) Ron J. Suresha & Scott McGillivray - Fur, The Love of Hair
Eye-popping artwork and photography pay homage to the hirsute body and the man known as a "bear." The authors write with knowledge and appreciation, and when I could drag myself away from the illustrations, I found their style enjoyable. -Bobby
Hardcover: 256 pages
Publisher: Bruno Gmünder (May 1, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 3867872422
ISBN-13: 978-3867872423
Amazon: Fur: The Love of Hair
Gone are the times when sprouting hair on a man's chest was considered to be unstylish. Chest hair and beards are popular again! This fact was also proved by the success of our anthology HAIR two years ago. But since so many of you obviously just can't get enough, we produced a comprehensive follow-up: Fur - The Love of Hair offers you sexy men en masse - and they all show their hair roudly. The pictures by various artists are complemented by informative and entertaining texts.
3) Johnny Townsend - Let the Faggots Burn
It’s hard to be critical over such a powerful piece of non-fiction. Disturbing to read but so well written. -Ali
Paperback: 342 pages
Publisher: Booklocker.com, Inc. (2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1614344531
ISBN-13: 978-1614344537
Amazon: Let the Faggots Burn
On Gay Pride Day in 1973, an arsonist set the entrance to a French Quarter gay bar on fire. In the terrible inferno that followed, 32 people lost their lives, including a third of the local congregation of the Metropolitan Community Church, their pastor burning to death halfway out a second-story window as he tried to claw his way to freedom. A mother who'd gone to the bar with her two gay sons died alongside them. A man who'd helped his friend escape first was found dead near the fire escape. Two children waited outside of a movie theater across town for a father and step-father who would never pick them up. During this era of rampant homophobia, several families refused to claim the bodies, and many churches refused to bury the dead. Author Johnny Townsend pored through old records and tracked down survivors of the fire and relatives and friends of those killed to compile this fascinating account of a forgotten moment in gay history.
Honorable Mention:
4) Bambi L. Lobdell - A Strange Sort of Being
This is a well done examination of the life of Lucy Ann Lobdell with a thoughtful examination of past accounts and the suggestion to re-examine Lobdell's life in light of modern understanding of transgender norms. -Victoria
This was a very interesting book that was different than the other books that I've rated before. I felt like it was something that could be used for an Anthropology course in college. -Mitzie
Paperback: 239 pages
Publisher: McFarland (December 12, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0786448059
ISBN-13: 978-0786448050
Amazon: "A Strange Sort of Being": The Transgender Life of Lucy Ann / Joseph Israel Lobdell, 1829-1912
5) Roy Chaudoir - Mettray Seminary: The Untold Story
Almost perfection. Although fiction this is an interest geared book as it uses the church and its pedophilia issues as a backdrop. That said this is a raw emotional book that will hold readers from page one right to the end as it follows one young man journey to acceptance. Writing was superb, timeline was clean and uncluttered. -Erotic Horizon
Paperback: 172 pages
Publisher: lulu.com (December 12, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1257973185
ISBN-13: 978-1257973187
Amazon: Mettray Seminary: The Untold Story
This journal is friends only. This entry was originally posted at http://reviews-and-ramblings.dreamwidth.org/3371961.html. If you are not friends on this journal, Please comment there using OpenID.
1) Thomas Keith - Love Christopher Street (
)
The breadth of lives and experiences related in this book really touched me at both an intellectual and an emotional level. -Myranda
A historically and culturally significant resource... Not to mention a hell of a good read about Greenwich Village in the 1970s! -Alan
Paperback: 422 pages
Publisher: Vantage Point (June 1, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1936467348
ISBN-13: 978-1936467341
Amazon: Love, Christopher Street: Reflections of New York City
These twenty-six original essays by lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered writers include personal stories that span forty years of LGBTQ life in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island, and together create a queer love letter to New York City. Chapters in this volume range from personal anecdote to memoir, reportage, history, herstory, and daydream, as well as tributes to people, places, and events.
2) Ron J. Suresha & Scott McGillivray - Fur, The Love of Hair
Eye-popping artwork and photography pay homage to the hirsute body and the man known as a "bear." The authors write with knowledge and appreciation, and when I could drag myself away from the illustrations, I found their style enjoyable. -Bobby
Hardcover: 256 pages
Publisher: Bruno Gmünder (May 1, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 3867872422
ISBN-13: 978-3867872423
Amazon: Fur: The Love of Hair
Gone are the times when sprouting hair on a man's chest was considered to be unstylish. Chest hair and beards are popular again! This fact was also proved by the success of our anthology HAIR two years ago. But since so many of you obviously just can't get enough, we produced a comprehensive follow-up: Fur - The Love of Hair offers you sexy men en masse - and they all show their hair roudly. The pictures by various artists are complemented by informative and entertaining texts.
3) Johnny Townsend - Let the Faggots Burn
It’s hard to be critical over such a powerful piece of non-fiction. Disturbing to read but so well written. -Ali
Paperback: 342 pages
Publisher: Booklocker.com, Inc. (2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1614344531
ISBN-13: 978-1614344537
Amazon: Let the Faggots Burn
On Gay Pride Day in 1973, an arsonist set the entrance to a French Quarter gay bar on fire. In the terrible inferno that followed, 32 people lost their lives, including a third of the local congregation of the Metropolitan Community Church, their pastor burning to death halfway out a second-story window as he tried to claw his way to freedom. A mother who'd gone to the bar with her two gay sons died alongside them. A man who'd helped his friend escape first was found dead near the fire escape. Two children waited outside of a movie theater across town for a father and step-father who would never pick them up. During this era of rampant homophobia, several families refused to claim the bodies, and many churches refused to bury the dead. Author Johnny Townsend pored through old records and tracked down survivors of the fire and relatives and friends of those killed to compile this fascinating account of a forgotten moment in gay history.
Honorable Mention:
4) Bambi L. Lobdell - A Strange Sort of Being
This is a well done examination of the life of Lucy Ann Lobdell with a thoughtful examination of past accounts and the suggestion to re-examine Lobdell's life in light of modern understanding of transgender norms. -Victoria
This was a very interesting book that was different than the other books that I've rated before. I felt like it was something that could be used for an Anthropology course in college. -Mitzie
Paperback: 239 pages
Publisher: McFarland (December 12, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0786448059
ISBN-13: 978-0786448050
Amazon: "A Strange Sort of Being": The Transgender Life of Lucy Ann / Joseph Israel Lobdell, 1829-1912
5) Roy Chaudoir - Mettray Seminary: The Untold Story
Almost perfection. Although fiction this is an interest geared book as it uses the church and its pedophilia issues as a backdrop. That said this is a raw emotional book that will hold readers from page one right to the end as it follows one young man journey to acceptance. Writing was superb, timeline was clean and uncluttered. -Erotic Horizon
Paperback: 172 pages
Publisher: lulu.com (December 12, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1257973185
ISBN-13: 978-1257973187
Amazon: Mettray Seminary: The Untold Story
This journal is friends only. This entry was originally posted at http://reviews-and-ramblings.dreamwidth.org/3371961.html. If you are not friends on this journal, Please comment there using OpenID.