Known as “The Mayor of Castro Street” even before he was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, Harvey Milk’s personal life, public career, and final assassination reflect the dramatic emergence of the gay community as a political power in America. It is a story full of personal tragedies and political intrigues, assassinations at City Hall, massive riots in the streets, the miscarriage of justice, and the consolidation of gay power and gay hope.
Harvey Milk has been the subject of numerous books and movies, including the Academy Award–winning 1984 documentary, The Times of Harvey Milk. His life is also the basis of a 2008 major motion picture, Milk, starring Sean Penn.
The Mayor of Castro Street
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Review
“A no-holds-barred character study and a history of the local gay movement . . . An investigative piece on the mechanics of big-city government in all its expedient, back-biting splendor.” —The Washington Post
“A remarkable work [of] biography, social history, and political machination . . . Exceptional.” —The Los Angeles Times
About the Author
Randy Shilts was one of the first openly gay journalists hired at a major newspaper and worked for the San Francisco Chronicle for thirteen years. He died of AIDS in 1994 at his home in the Sonoma County redwoods in California. He was the author of several groundbreaking bestsellers, including And the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic (1987) and Conduct Unbecoming: Lesbians and Gays in the U.S. Military (1993).
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
23 of 25 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Randy Shilts was a great writer, his books are always a good read. This was his first, and perhaps best book. It tells the story of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay elected politician in America. I bought this book after reading the reviews of "Milk," the new movie starring Sean Penn as Harvey Milk. It's a good history of how gay men were treated in America in the 1940's and 1950's, tells about Stonewall, then moves to San Francisco and the Castro, when Harvey Milk does.The Castro grew up around the time Harvey Milk first came here, started his camera store and ran for City Supervisor. Milk comes across as someone with compassion and a clear vision of what city governement should do, but also someone with a wicked sense of humor, and a sense of theatre, which makes it a fun read. He really comes alive in this book. The book goes through his assasination by a former police officer, Dan White, the candlelight procession after his death, the trial of Dan White, and subsequent "White Night Riots." A must read for anyone interested in the gay rights movement.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Author Randy Shilts was a journalist before he became a best selling author (And the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic, 20th-Anniversary Edition, Conduct Unbecoming: Gays and Lesbians in the U.S. Military). His chronicling of the life of Harvey Milk from New York to San Francisco bears witness to the everyman struggles of gay men of that period. From the arrests and harassments in bars to the ultimate victory of being the first gay man elected to United Sates office, Shilts details every aspect of Milk's life. People famous then and now supplied detailed information on the kind of human being that Harvey Milk truly was. (Mind you, this book was written in the early eighties).
Told in a quickly paced and unrelentingly thorough style, Shilts shows how an ordinary man like Milk can make a global change (all after age forty). Milk did this before he was assassinated, making his story all the more intriguing, tragic and poetic. The recent Gus Van Sant film does a great service to the novel, but Shilts is the one that truly gets under the skin of Harvey Milk and displays a man full of integrity, conviction and humility. In his reporter's style, Shilts also describes Milk's associates, friends and coworkers, pulling together the fabric of a life cut far too short. There is a great deal of inside information like Feinstein getting caught with a gun in her purse, Feinstein literally trying to keep Harvey Milk and Dan White away from each other on that fateful day and the bizarre fact that Harvey Milk recorded his obit 1 year and 9 days prior to his assassination. Of course, see the film and the documentary, but read this book to truly comprehend how an ordinary man can turn into a hero for not just a minority, but also any underdog.
Told in a quickly paced and unrelentingly thorough style, Shilts shows how an ordinary man like Milk can make a global change (all after age forty). Milk did this before he was assassinated, making his story all the more intriguing, tragic and poetic. The recent Gus Van Sant film does a great service to the novel, but Shilts is the one that truly gets under the skin of Harvey Milk and displays a man full of integrity, conviction and humility. In his reporter's style, Shilts also describes Milk's associates, friends and coworkers, pulling together the fabric of a life cut far too short. There is a great deal of inside information like Feinstein getting caught with a gun in her purse, Feinstein literally trying to keep Harvey Milk and Dan White away from each other on that fateful day and the bizarre fact that Harvey Milk recorded his obit 1 year and 9 days prior to his assassination. Of course, see the film and the documentary, but read this book to truly comprehend how an ordinary man can turn into a hero for not just a minority, but also any underdog.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
For all the GLBT people in elected office, we should never forget Harvey Milk. Thankfully, this biography of Milk has just been reissued - after far too long - and now there's no excuse to not read it.
A sobering moment comes right at the beginning of this book with the author's foreword. Randy Shilts wrote his foreword in July of 1981, the same month that the New York Times reported on a strange new disease that was found in gay men. Shilts himself eventually died of AIDS. I found myself thinking about this as I read "Castro Street," wondering how Harvey Milk would have dealt with the AIDS crisis.
Both biography and cultural history, Shilts' book is a milestone. Coming out a few years before the Oscar winning documentary on Milk's life, "The Mayor of Castro Street" is the first complete telling about the man who became the first openly gay elected official in the United States. The 1970s were a time of huge changes in the gay community and Milk's election was a sign of the progress being made. It's a tragedy that it ended so quickly.
With the film about Milk's life coming out, this book is a great companion. Shilts' journalistic style is readable and, as another reviewer has stated, the book reads like a novel. This reprint includes all the photos that were part of the previous editions and, to put it bluntly, is a must read.
A sobering moment comes right at the beginning of this book with the author's foreword. Randy Shilts wrote his foreword in July of 1981, the same month that the New York Times reported on a strange new disease that was found in gay men. Shilts himself eventually died of AIDS. I found myself thinking about this as I read "Castro Street," wondering how Harvey Milk would have dealt with the AIDS crisis.
Both biography and cultural history, Shilts' book is a milestone. Coming out a few years before the Oscar winning documentary on Milk's life, "The Mayor of Castro Street" is the first complete telling about the man who became the first openly gay elected official in the United States. The 1970s were a time of huge changes in the gay community and Milk's election was a sign of the progress being made. It's a tragedy that it ended so quickly.
With the film about Milk's life coming out, this book is a great companion. Shilts' journalistic style is readable and, as another reviewer has stated, the book reads like a novel. This reprint includes all the photos that were part of the previous editions and, to put it bluntly, is a must read.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Castro
Shilts was a terrific writer of books and journalism. This book dragged a bit at times, mired down in the intracacies of politics, but is a well written and important book.
Published 3 months ago by Lucy L. Noonan
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great read
I found this enjoyable and hated putting it down. Such a sad ending to such a productive live, it deserved to be told well.
Published 5 months ago by RB Pattison
4.0 out of 5 stars
Book
I had got this book for a summer english class, and at first i had thought to myself like really who cares about Harvey Milk, but once i started reading it i couldn't put it down;... Read more
Published 10 months ago by giodirt
5.0 out of 5 stars
This stirring book is the first you should read about Harvey Milk
Randy Shilts' stirring biography is the first book anyone should read about Harvey Milk. Shilts was a participant in several of the historic events he describes, knew Milk, and... Read more
Published 12 months ago by Vince Emery
5.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting, Informative and Insightful
Having been in college during the late 70's and being part of the great awakening toward gays and lesbians I found this book to be absolutely fascinating. Read more
Published 15 months ago by CD Maniac
5.0 out of 5 stars
A scintillating read of a curiously intriguing man
Excellent read. Shilts has always been upfront about his sexuality and it seems to have served him well as he gained access to sources close to Milk that others might not have. Read more
Published on July 5, 2010 by K. Lowe
4.0 out of 5 stars
Decent but Movie Much Better
In "The Mayor of Castro Street," journalist Randy Shilts chronicles the life and times of Harvey Milk, who in less than five years would alter the landscape of local politics in... Read more
Published on October 24, 2009 by Jiang Xueqin
5.0 out of 5 stars
Harvey Milk
After seeing Gus Van Sant's compelling & marvelous production of 'Milk', I knew I had to read more about Harvey Milk, the first openly gay politician in the US. Read more
Published on June 19, 2009 by RealGrrl
4.0 out of 5 stars
Harvey Milk: Pioneer
Having lived in San Francisco off and on from 1968 through 1973, I was there for a good part of the time period covered by Randy Shilts' book, "The Mayor of Castro Street. Read more
Published on May 12, 2009 by M. Hurst
5.0 out of 5 stars
Remarkable both as a companion to the film and as a stand-alone.
After seeing "Milk," I was interested to learn more about Harvey than a two-hour Hollywood movie could offer. Read more
Published on May 11, 2009 by whitmanesque
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