Customer Reviews

The Gay Metropolis

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I was one of the several fortunate students to be present at your lecture and discussion this year at Nova Center. I found the topic most interesting, and your approach to this very controversial subject made me want to read and learn more about the "Gay Metropolis." Much of my family is from New York, but the prevalence of such a large homosexual community went relatively unnoticed during my visits there. Perhaps my family attempted to shield me from the realities of the world, but your discussion certainly opened my eyes. I personally enjoy historical accounts more than fictional novels, and your book was certainly filled with personal statements and interviews with people. From what I have read thus far, I have learned that the gay community has remained relatively stable from 1940 to 1996, but its level of exposure has altered dramatically with the times. The lifestyle was basically unacceptable by many social standards during the 1950s, and most writers considered the subject taboo, with the exception of Alan Ginsberg of course. The 1960s seemed to present new opportunities for expression and a general liberal sentiment pervaded society though the counter-cultures of this decade. I personally enjoy the matter-of-fact and humorous manner in which you present the book. You did not intend of gathering sympathy for an oppressed group but rather managed to portray the ridiculous tendencies of society for their views on a significant portion of Americans. As you can tell by the length of this note, your book has had a tremendous impact on my view of this whole issue. I always knew that our society suppressed the gay communities, but the extent of this was always a mystery to me. The history books do not begin to explain the wide-spread nature of the problem, and the laws passed did not take immediate effect to relieve these people. It has taken decades and decades to transform the views of many people, and there is still much to be done. I believe your book was courageous step in the right direction.

(The Fabulous) Gay (Life)

Straight America may always be schizophrenic in its relationship with the gay community, but as evidenced in Charles Kaiser's THE GAY METROPOLIS 1940-1996 (Houghton Mifflin Co., $27), no matter what the level of rejection, toleration or acceptance- there was no stopping us then and there is no stopping us now.

Kaiser tracts a burgeoning gay community, building as a collective force, at the national upheaval of America during WWII. What emerged in US cities at the time is a formidable, if rutterless minority. One that didn't seek to mirror the dominant straight society, but rather, was forced to be refracted by it, through an arbitrary sexually fuedalism.

Kaiser's sober, respectably researched and thoughly engrossing book is a light panoramic history of the indeflagitable homosexual urban culture in the US since that defining period. Interviewing many who where there then and here now, he draws sharp parallels and contrasts that show how far we have come and how far we have to go.

The gay mines have been swept and few exploded in THE GAY METROPOLIS- The least of them turns out to be scandalous exposes of celebrities and politicals in pre-liberation days. Although, a little bombe like the fact that House on Un-American Activities Sen. Joe McCarthy didn't rout out homosexuals (an institutionalized government tactic since WWI), along with his commies because he had sex with men, is delicious.

The real mushroom cloud in this book is that lesbian and gay men through sheer normalcy of will thrived in pre-Stonewall decades no matter what forces moved to oppress them. From fascinating personal remembrances of non-celebrities to the sublime tales of the infamous, Kaiser is expert in interfacing the infinite cross-culturalism that has molded gay life, for better or worse.

It's obvious from the assessable scope of this book that Kaiser has both the authoritative power of a historian and the storytelling flair of a great novelist. For instance, writing potently of the shrouded shenanigans of McCarthy aide Roy Cohn, New York columnist Joseph Alsop, J. Edgar Hoover, among other politically powerful closet queens, Kaiser de-sensationalizes the venomous gossip and instead disects the socio-political background that produced such internalized homophobia.

Another laudable method Kaiser employs is to regard all expressions of gay life worthy of even-handed reporting, from the (necessary) clandestine trysting places of toilets and salons to the complex socio-political structures of the gay-rights movement, the whole prism is in there.

Yet he always brings the antecdotes back to the point that, all along, no matter what the gay-bashing flavor of the year is, for gays, it is always about a civil-rights struggle-

"Gay Life in New York City in the 1950s was by turn oppressive and exhilarating, a world of persecution and vast possiblilities."

Kaiser tends to fawn over the importance of the arts and celebrity as pivotal touchstones and breakthroughs within the gay community. His observations are fascinating, even asute, you get the feeling that he should have written a separate book. He goes on about gay milestones in the theater, yet gives an almost one-dimensional reportage of the New York lesbian community.

He provides a great service, though, in drawing perspective on the impact of the crucial scientific research of the 1950s of homosexuality by Alfred Kinsey and Dr. Evelyn Hooker, whose studies, along with the personal experiences of gays, provided the solid architecture for a unified gay rebellion, movement, liberation and community infra-structure.

He also heralds the almost forgotten achievements of early gay militantcy, such as that of The Mattachine Society, the first known grassroots gay organization, which was founded by Harry Hay.

Although the vibracy of Kaiser's chapters on the 40s and 50s quiets a bit by the time we get into the closer ring of the latter decades, he writes movingly and accurately about the early years of the gay community's response to the AIDS epidemic.

With this book, the author can join the list of important gay historians like John Boswell, George Chauncey, Elizabeth Kennedy and Martin Duberman in liberating the invisible and silent past. Crisp, objective and colorful, Charles Kaiser has rescued from obscurity, the private and public lost stories that have weaved the tapestry of the still unfurling gay flag.

Lewis Whittington

This book provides the reader with a clear, basic understandingof the grounding of popular opinion regarding gay life during the last50 years. While the history is too rich and detailed to be dealt within a book with this scope, this is a remarkably readable and valuable thumbnail of the currents of the public discourse on gay life, and should provide any reader with an understanding of how crucial and new gay civil rights really are. I only hope that it will inspire others whose experience of being gay is a relatively new one to realize how important political activism and community still is. Not only that, a very engaging read!

When I came to New York in 1991 at age 20, I was immediately sucked into Act Up and Queer Nation, the two main activists formations of the time. People were dying of AIDS rapidly. The city felt like a battlefield. Political funerals of Aids activists and marches against homophobic bars and kiss-ins in restaurants seemed to happen on a daily basis. Fury, rage and angry marches were the response to gay-bashings. You woke up and went to protest outside Bush senior's hotel room in midtown. Went to work, then after, you went to meetings where more actions were planned for the next day and so on. Marches against the homophobic cardinal and the Board of Education. 16 years later reading the Gay Metropolis I am struck by it's importance. I had forgotten all of the above. It was an exciting time. It was also a sad and scary time. Friends were passing away and getting an HIV test was one of the scariest things you could do. The Gay Metropolis has a more lasting effect on me when it deals with the times before my time, the 40' to 80's. What it was like to be gay back then. Every gay woman and man must read this book. It is essential to know where we have been while we are figuring out where we want to go in the future. For me one of the most effective aspects of the book is how Charles Kaiser let's the people who lived through those times tell their own personal story. The accumulative effect is a priceless oral history. Read about the chilling testimony of activists from the pre Stonewall era and how even people who were actively opposing homophobia, were afraid to be found out as gay by their bosses and friend and families. Or read about the freedom in the aftermath of Stonewall and the tidal wave of liberation it unleashed. Lastly this book is a love letter to New York City and its diverse populace. The mother of the Gay movement. The Gay Metropolis indeed.

Highly detailed, highly readable, and more than a little dishy, Kaiser's chronicle of post-WWII gay life and culture is told through the stories of the individuals -- activists, celebrities, writers; many fascinating, some tragic -- who shaped it. The book's focus on New York gay males is a limitation, of course, but this is still a rich and essential volume in 20th century gay history.

What a wonderful, wonderful read! Go and get this book for yourselves to read. Find out who you are, and where you came from, and where you have the power to go.Obtain strength from others you read in this book. Charles Kaiser has concentrated on New York, but it does not detract from an overall understanding of the 20th Century gay tapestry. The use of New York could probably be seen as symbolic for the broader gay commonwealth.Probably a wise move. The decision to make this mainly an oral history was most likely a wise one as well.It brought this book, and our community's history to life in a way that traditional academic writing cannot possibly achieve. Kaiser has very pertinently compared our situation with all other minorities, and it's what we have in common that counts, not the differences.

The treatment of our history in different decades was the most interesting feature - the 2nd World War, and the 1990's being the most interesting and illuminating episodes, in an episode-filled book. The history of the '80s was the hardest to read, but to appreciate what Kaiser writes of the 1990s, it's necessary to read the book from beginning to end.

As a group, we still need positive reinforcement, and this book does it beautifully. You won't regret reading it, and I am indebted to a wonderful straight friend for bringing this back from New York as a present for me.

Gay history is largely an invisible history. Unlike other minorities, gay people do not grow up in a culture and community that celebrates, respects and honors their struggles and triumphs. The Gay Metropolis was in many ways that celebration - unveiling the history, tragedies and victories that help give context to our identity. This book was a joy to read:illuminating, irreverent and yet authoritative about the subject, and written with a grace and skill that truly reflects Kaiser's passion and knowledge. A great read and highly recommended.

Captures the flavor of each decade, not only through historical events, but through the words of people who lived through them. You get a sense of what it was like to live as a gay person in each decade. Gives you a great idea of the impressive scope of the gay struggle since 1940. A very enjoyable book.

There is much to enjoy in the Gay Metropolis (subtitled the landmark history of gay life in America since World War II). The history is presented as a series of observations and anecdotes from many people who lived in the gay scene during this time. The subtitle is a little misleading as the book is really only covering New York and not America and there is no he said, she said as it is basically (with a few very interesting exceptions) only men who are covered in this book. It is by no means a definitive history but it is an entertaining read as the stories are usually told well and are intimately personal. As the book goes on, most readers over the age of thirty will learn nothing new but it still reads quickly and pleasantly. A fun volume for the general reader of a slice of the Big Apple gay life.

I understand people critism's about this book, but I still found it fascinating. It was clear and precise. As a queer youth, much of this book took place before my birth, but it brought to light many things and stories that I never knew about. It can be a total eye opener for both gay and straight people alike.