Who's a Pretty Boy, Then?: One Hundred & Fifty Years of Gay Life in Pictures [Hardcover]

James Gardiner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 1998

A pictorial cruise through a century of gay culture by the author of A Class Apart.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

James Gardiner's eclectic collection of gay male photos, postcards, play bills, theater posters, and other ephemera is an unguided tour through 100 years of gay male life and culture. Gardiner has wisely followed no specific historical or literary plan--although the photos are arranged in general chronological order--and the effect is striking. As you page through the hundreds of images, you are forced to make your own connections, construct your own sense of reality. Who's a Pretty Boy Then? is a historical and artistic tour de force that brings gay male history alive.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Serpent's Tail (June 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 185242513X
• ISBN-13: 978-1852425135
• Product Dimensions: 12.2 x 9.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #364,997 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

44 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great possibilities, ultimately disappointing, September 16, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Who's a Pretty Boy, Then?: One Hundred & Fifty Years of Gay Life in Pictures (Hardcover)

There are some wonderful archival photos in this book, but it lacks a basic level of "scholarship" that leaves it as one guy's idiosyncratic take on British-dominated gay history. Seems to me there is way too much focus on drag, and a more international perspective would have helped as well.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A multifacteted overview, March 9, 2002

By 

Grady Harp (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Who's a Pretty Boy, Then?: One Hundred & Fifty Years of Gay Life in Pictures (Hardcover)

To dismiss this book as just an excuse to dredge up some titillating photographs for the purpose of publishing is an injustice. This collection is an historical perspective on many levels - the camera as a art form since its invention, a survey of sociolgical transformations as to the perception of homosexuality, the psychological sweep from the closet to the stage to Stonewall to the AIDS bedside and beyond. There are many many captured moments that seem voyeuristic in the best sense of the word in that the spontaneity of individuals interacting as well as groups entertaining are fresh and often off guard. Here is a portfolio of tenderness, of hilarity, and of tragedy. Would that there were more essays interspersed to document the various periods traversd. But then we must also pay homage to the phrase "a picture is worth a thousand words". Well worth your time.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Pix, but..., September 5, 2007

By 

Stratonautus (London, UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Who's a Pretty Boy, Then?: One Hundred and Fifty Years of Gay Life in Pictures (Paperback)

I got this as a present, and I am never sure what one has to do with picture books once seen they seem to have exhausted their usefulness. Nevertheless, it passes the time for novices on this subject; and one could always leave it lying around for 'straight' visitors to find...

This picture volume has more the feel of a labour of love than that of a scholarly work, and I am sure it doesn't aspire to that. The fact that it is very much London (UK) based limits its scope for other audiences somewhat despite some Baron von Gloeden images. I did find a 2 or 3 people in there I had come across in my time when clubbing in London; it serves me as a nice memento then. (Bless; Regina Fong)