The New York Times Twentieth Century in Review: The Gay Rights Movement [Hardcover]

Vincent Samar (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 31, 2001 | ISBN-10: 1579582257 | ISBN-13: 978-1579582258 | Edition: illustrated edition

Among the many civil rights developments that shaped the social and political landscape of the 20th century, the gay rights movement has been unique in its origins, its goals, and its impact. For much of the century, gays and lesbians were not even recognized as a distinct cultural group, so that when they finally became galvanized following the Stonewall riot of the late 1960s, their struggle became a quest for individual and collective identity as much as one for civil rights. Through a compilation of news stories, editorials, essays, and reviews taken from The New York Times , The Gay Rights Movement reveals much about the journey of homosexuals from isolated, criminalized pariahs to members of a distinct and outspoken community. This unique reference book includes more than 500 articles and 100 illustrations that chronicle the legal, political, social, cultural, and personal evolution of gay rights throughout the 20th century and up to the present time.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This title is part of a new series that focuses on specific issues and events of the past century, as covered by staff writers of the New York Times. Containing more than 500 articles (news stories, essays, editorials, reviews, etc.) and 100 illustrations organized into nine parts, the book attempts to examine all aspects of gay and lesbian life in the United States. Unfortunately, as gays have never been considered an official minority group in this country, neither the New York Times nor any other news organization, for that matter, saw the need to devote much attention to homosexual issues prior to 1969. The little that did get into the press was usually a range of pejorative references to gay people as "perverts" or worse. Thanks to the Stonewall riots of 1969, which heralded the birth of the contemporary gay rights movement in this country, the world has gradually begun to see gays and lesbians in a different light. Consequently, most of the pieces in this book date from 1975 onward. This is not a typical reference work but rather a collection of newspaper clippings from a publication that obviously reflects the cultural biases of its editors and reporters over the years. Given the value of such a compilation of stories on gay and lesbian rights, it would have been truly enlightening if a historical time line of relevant major and minor events over the past century had been provided. Barring that, a historic index of all the stories arranged by year could have been included. Without either, this is less a research work than a scrapbook. Libraries with larger gay and lesbian collections might find this useful. Richard Drezen, Washington Post/NYC Bureau, New York
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

These are the first volumes in a series that will consist of some 50 titles on issues and events that defined the past century and continue to be relevant today.

Content consists of articles from the New York Times. The Cold War is arranged in two volumes covering from 1918 to1963 and 1964 to 1992 and nine parts. Part 4, "The Eisenhower Period," to take one example, reprints almost 60 articles, beginning with a January 16, 1953, report on President Truman's official farewell and ending with a July 16, 1958, report on Eisenhower's dispatch of marines to Lebanon. Included among the articles are some opinion columns, book reviews, and full-text documents such as Eisenhower's farewell address.

The Gay Rights Movement is arranged in nine parts that reflect the concerns of gay men and lesbians (e.g., "The Impact of AIDS," "Redefining the Family") and then chronologically within these sections, from 1927 to 2000. The volume includes a number of reviews of books, films, and plays; many opinion columns; photos; and several long articles, such as a March 28, 1971, report on the Daughters of Belitis.

The articles in both works, including the headlines and subheadlines, have been electronically reformatted for ease in reading. The Subject Index and Byline Index in each work are extensive and accurate.

Although encyclopedias and compilations of journal articles are available on both subjects, the value of these sources will be the longer view and changing perspectives they provide. Students may depend on online sources for information on recent events, but these print resources will be useful for retrospective newspaper research at the high-school and college levels. REVWR
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 750 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; illustrated edition edition (March 31, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1579582257
• ISBN-13: 978-1579582258
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 8.8 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,375,098 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars a marvelous, necessary book, June 18, 2001

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Armando Maggi "book lover" (chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The New York Times Twentieth Century in Review: The Gay Rights Movement (Hardcover)

The Gay Rights Movement edited by Vincent Samar is an essential, must-read book. Samar has collected the most important and often controversial NY Times articles on gay issues in this century. Samar's intelligent selection shows the evolution of an entire culture. In terms of human rights, we give a lot for granted. Reading Samar's book reminds us that nothing is a given. Highly recommended in particular for young readers.