RaveLambda Literary... a stunning addition to the gay corner of the true-crime genre ... Green does a superb job describing how this dark force invaded the one place where gay men sought solace in song and drink, where they could finally let their guard down. Some drank too much and, looking for love or just a trick, never returned ... As an investigative crime writer Elon puts in the work, with a sense of sensitivity and compassion ... The care, the research, the investment on display in...Last Call signals to me, at least, that Elon Green rises above the function of a dispassionate observer. He writes like a communal friend.
Eric Cervini
RaveLambda LiteraryTimely and essential, Cervini’s book is packed with nearly forgotten events and brave stories that will expand the understanding of queer history for many readers ... Cervini paints a vivid portrait of the petulant but driven Kameny, and how the negative, controlling aspects of his personality imperiled unity within the fractious, nascent gay rights movement ... a treasure trove of inspiration for budding writers or biographers looking for future subjects or projects ... Cervini’s extensive notes at the end of The Deviant’s War demonstrate that he’s talking to and reading the right people. In my experience, his age doesn’t make him the exception. So, if you’re not engaging with young activists and writers like him, perhaps you should look into expanding your circle. You can start by picking up this book.
James Polchin
PositiveLambda LiteraryPolchin exposes American society’s exploitative misunderstanding of gay men ... Viewing gay history through the lens of crime, Polchin re-orders mid-century events and history-makers in startling ways ... The works of Baldwin and Gore Vidal provide additional insight, and Polchin mines the African-American press of the time to provide a deeper, more nuanced understanding of the era.
Mark Dery
PositiveLambda LiteraryWhat an inviting cabinet of curiosities we have in Mark Dery’s Born to Be Posthumous: The Eccentric Life and Mysterious Genius of Edward Gorey! Every chapter is a revelation–each its own self-contained diorama that adds dimension to the whole ... With Born to Be Posthumous, Mark Dery pulls back the grand drape in a way that does not dispel the magic but simply sanctifies Gorey’s contribution. Though he stood apart, or was sequestered away with his cats in the studio, we can now proudly confirm that Edward Gorey is most definitively one of ours.
Lance Richardson
RaveLambda LiteraryThe rock ‘n’ roll spirit–imported by Britain in the 50s and 60s and made that country’s own—infuses every page of House of Nutter: The Rebel Tailor of Savile Row. The Beatles, the Stones, and Elton John, all dance through this delightful and compelling book, and though they’re the music makers here, all were styled by Tommy Nutter ... the specter of AIDS looms as large and dark as anything ever on the horizon, when it hits, it still startles and destroys in a way both familiar yet freshly devastating ... In writing about Tommy’s illness and passing, writer Lance Richardson deserves the highest possible praise for his revealing compassion. So much has been written, so much has been lost, that the importance of getting it \'right,\' so to speak, cannot be understated.
Edmund White
RaveLambda LiteraryAs White narrates coming into his own as a writer, The Unpunished Vice grows into a veritable avalanche of interesting books and talented folk: the early admiration of Nabakov, the friendship of John Irving and Joyce Carol Oates, just to name a few, are all described here with wit and candor ... White visits his own books with the lightest of finger taps. Only when a solid correlation in another text, a stylistic point learned or a moment of inspiration, presents itself are we treated to the germinations of his own work, and then often with just a sentence or two ... As a memoir, The Unpublished Vice also serves as an important document chronicling gay literary history (more on that later). The characteristically generous dollops of advice also place this book on the books-for-writers shelf ... the commentary on literary relationships elevates The Unpunished Vice. The stories of nourishing artistic and intellectual camaraderie make the gift of a particular book all the more meaningful, the lessons learned applicable to life, not just the trade of telling tales ... The Unpublished Vice is an exquisite, winding staircase though the rich and varied library of an important writer’s readings; one that, like the very best books, delivers the reader to secret but familiar chambers seemingly—if only—without end.