Nearly comprehensive ... The story Savage tells is a rich and fascinating one, shedding new light on familiar icons and bringing forgotten ones out of the past ... The legacy of performers like Sylvester continues to inspire new generations of queer artists and audiences, and The Secret Public is an invaluable guide to anyone wanting to understand how it all got started.
Skillful ... This is a meticulously researched tome ... We can only hope this book might herald a sequel in which Savage can turn his rigorous depth and tenderness to what did happen next.
With kaleidoscopic detail and exhilarating verve, he tells the intertwined, transatlantic story of pop and the struggle for LGBTQ+ emancipation ... The chapter on Bowie is thrilling, demonstrating this book’s ability to cast an entirely new light on subjects that may previously have seemed overfamiliar ... The depths of Savage’s research is one reason why this book feels so definitive.
An astounding achievement. Few volumes on queer history and culture have taken on as much as Savage has here. Savage has decades of first-hand knowledge and has supported it with an enormous amount of research. All this is made exciting by his love of his topic.
