Unfriendly Fire: How the Gay Ban Undermines the Military and Weakens America [Paperback]

Nathaniel Frank (Author)

Book Description

Release date: March 2, 2010

Drawing on more than a decade of research and hundreds of interviews, Nathaniel Frank exposes the military’s policy toward gays and lesbians as the damaging one that it is and demonstrates that “don’t ask, don’t tell” must be replaced with an outright reversal of the gay ban. One of the nation’s leading experts on gays in the military, Frank’s even-handed and always scrupulously documented chronicle shows how the ban on open gays and lesbians in the U.S. military has greatly increased discharges, hampered recruitment, and—contrary to the rationale offered by proponents of the ban—led to lower morale and cohesion within military ranks.

The author presents indisputable evidence showing that gays already serve openly in the U.S. military without causing problems, and that the policy itself is weakening the military it was supposed to protect. Part history, part exposé, and fully revealing, Unfriendly Fire is sure to make the blood boil of any American who cares about national security, the right to speak the truth, or just plain common sense and fairness.

 

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Unfriendly Fire offers a sharp, vigorously framed analysis.”—The New York Times

“Unfriendly Fire reads like a crisp, confident, tightly focused legal brief appealing an unconscionable decision; pity the opposing advocate who must answer it point by point. With this book, President Obama, who pledged to scrap don’t ask, don’t tell, has an instruction manual, as well as a blooper reel for avoiding Clinton’s mistakes.”—Washington Monthly

“Why does his book, Unfriendly Fire, need nearly three hundred pages of text to make the same relatively simple points? Because he makes them so discerningly, so substantively, and so well. Unfriendly Fire offers a sharp, vigorously framed analysis of this state of affairs. The main attraction in Unfriendly Fire is the agility and tough-mindedness with which Mr. Frank presents his arguments.”—Janet Maslin, The New York Times

“This new book from the academic who first broke the story about the gay Arabic translators who were thrown out of the military is the best thing ever written about Bill Clinton’s disastrous policy of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell.’ ”—Columbia Journalism Review

“A meticulously argued case for the dismantling of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ and for the full reversal of the ban on gay and lesbian servicemembers.”—NPR.org

“The book is a definitive addition to Allan Berube’s Coming Out Under Fire and Randy Shilts’s Conduct Unbecoming, which each focused on eras before ‘don’t ask, don’t tell,’ when gay soldiers were simply banned without any epistemological baggage. But Frank differs from his predecessors with his insistently critical tone and laser-like attention to the policy’s shortcomings.”—The Advocate

“Frank examines the 1993 law that bans open homosexual service in the U.S. military . . . and provides compelling evidence why the law should be repealed. . . . Unfriendly Fire is recommended reading, especially for those who proudly serve our Nation, because of its well-reasoned insights on how the current ban on homosexuals in the armed forces is currently undermining our military might.”--Military Review

“Frank tears down the pro-ban position on multiple fronts [and] builds a solid case that the ban on gays in the military is not only wrong, it is endangering the country.”—Kirkus Reviews

About the Author

Nathaniel Frank is senior research fellow at the Palm Center at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and teaches history on the adjunct faculty at New York University’s Gallatin School. His publications on gays in the military and other topics have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The New Republic, Slate, Los Angeles Times, Huffington Post, Newsday, Philadelphia Inquirer, Lingua Franca, and others, and his research and opinions have been cited on the congressional floor, in syndicated columns, in the blogosphere, the New York Post, The Advocate, National Review Online, the AP, and other venues, including university syllabi and media roundups. Frank earned his Ph.D. and M.A. in history at Brown University. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; First Edition edition (March 2, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312603533
• ISBN-13: 978-0312603533
• Product Dimensions: 0.9 x 6.1 x 9.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,533,737 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars self-inflicted wounds March 12, 2009

By Robert D. Harmon VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

As someone who was involved in the 1993 battle over gays in the military, albeit in a minor way, and who was in the military, I was curious how the story would read, now, 15 years on. This book rings true. Mr. Frank tells the story of how the U.S. got to that point, how Congress skewed its hearings on the issue, and how Bill Clinton ultimately, under duress, signed on to Don't Ask, Don't Tell.

He doesn't neglect the corollary issues: the mindset of both sides, the experience of gays in the military prior to 1993, and the experience of other militaries who lifted the ban. He helpfully lists the evidence for and against the ban, so far. (He may be one of the few to have actually _read_ the 1993 RAND study on the issue). And, he shows the anti-gay policy's contribution to pervasive male-on-female sexual harassment in the military.

He follows DADT in subsequent years, and it's a complicated story: I knew how "Don't Ask" became "Search and Destroy" in some commands, but hadn't heard, till now, of how many gay soldiers stayed on and continued serving well.

Mr. Frank could have, I suppose, made more of the impact this had on Bill Clinton's ability to act as Commander in Chief. This spat may have had something to do with his weak initial response to the Balkan wars from 1993 on. Certainly, the RAND study said that the gay ban would have fallen if the military thought Bill Clinton meant it. But, this a minor quibble.

Indeed, Mr. Frank does show how, with the military wearing out its active and Reserve forces with second, third, and fourth tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. He not only shows how personnel needs got so dire that the military was recruiting poor-quality, even ex-felon, soldiers, but shows the mayhem that would cause. (He does allude to the shortage being a factor in hiring the "contractors," Blackwater et al). All this while the military got rid of thousands of personnel under DADT, including Arabic-language specialists who might've been useful after 9/11.

This is the definitive study, and brings us up to early 2009, and the start of a new administration. Whether anybody in the White House or Congress reads it is another matter. Whatever their position on the issue, they should indeed read this, and ponder.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating and smart March 11, 2009

By Jake

Format:Hardcover

He lays out the case for repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell in a very compelling way. Some of the "reasons" that the military has used in the past to justify discrimination have to be read to be believed. And the behind the scenes political maneuvering that went on is fascinating. It's a great read.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Authoritative in its argument March 10, 2009

By wrappedupinbooks

Format:Hardcover

Nathaniel Frank has written THE book on this issue. No one can read it and still think the gay ban in the military is anything but foolish - and counterproductive. One need not be gay to see the wisdom in this definitive history and expose.