Brave Journeys: Profiles in Gay and Lesbian Courage [Hardcover]

David Mixner (Author), Dennis Bailey (Contributor)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

It is always easy, in the celebratory light of pride parades, to forget how recently these simple expressions of community would have incurred police violence, public protests, arrests, and the loss of jobs, homes, and families. Brave Journeys should be required reading for gay people under 40, especially those who think the pioneers of the pre-Stonewall world and the early 1970s weren't radical enough. It's both sobering and inspiring to read about figures such as Elaine Noble, the first openly gay elected official in America, whose house was repeatedly vandalized, who endured almost constant threats, and who actually had a rifle pointed at her by a schoolboy over her support of legislation ordering the integration of Boston schools. Even more instructive is the story of Dianne Hardy-Garcia, whose tireless activism in Texas--surely one of the most challenging political arenas in the country--has held religious conservatives at bay since the early 1980s, although she hasn't triumphed over the crushing antigay policies of George W. Bush. To complement the excellent new histories of the gay rights movement, here are moving and engaging accounts of popular heroes, from Del Martin and Phyllis Lyons, founders of the Daughters of Bilitis, to navy top gun Tracy Thorne, who declared his homosexuality on national television in order to force the military to confront its bigoted policies on sexual orientation. --Regina Marler

From Publishers Weekly

Taking their cue from John F. Kennedy's 1956 Pulitzer Prize-winning Profiles in Courage, and such spinoffs as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Alan Steinberg's Black Profiles in Courage, Mixner (Stranger Among Friends) and Bailey detail the lives, careers and accomplishments of seven gay and lesbian freedom fighters. Lovers Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon founded Daughters of Bilitis, a club that began as an anonymous meeting place for lesbians in San Francisco in 1955 (a harrowing time for homosexuals, when exposure often meant the loss of one's job and/or children) and blossomed into a force for gay rights. Sir Ian McKellen is an accomplished actor and gay rights activist. Elaine Noble, a former state representative of Massachusetts, was the first openly gay person elected to state office in the U.S., in 1975. Roberta Actenberg, an activist lawyer, cofounded the gay Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom and was later appointed by President Clinton as assistant secretary of housing and urban development in 1993. Model serviceman Lt. Tracy Thorne was dismissed from the navy after declaring he was gay on prime-time news in 1992. Dianne Hardy-Garcia, a grassroots gay organizer from Dallas, is executive director of the Lesbian and Gay Rights Lobby of Texas. Though their intent is obviously hagiography, Mixner and Bailey avoid maudlin sentimentality. If the authors occasionally indulge in feel-good overstatements ("thanks to Elaine Noble's pioneering efforts, diversity reigns on the American political landscape"), they also provide compelling narratives of courage and tenacity, of ample inspiration and commemoration. (Aug.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Bantam; First Edition edition (August 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553106511
• ISBN-13: 978-0553106510
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #2,905,259 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great American Hero---Excellent Reading, August 2, 2000

By	Brad Fuller (Charlotte, NC USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Brave Journeys: Profiles in Gay and Lesbian Courage (Hardcover)

Mr. Mixner has done it again--his leadership and dedication to the Gay community makes him a true American Hero. Excellent Reading

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thoughtful, Well Done, and Needed, August 23, 2000

By	Alexander Clemens (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Brave Journeys: Profiles in Gay and Lesbian Courage (Hardcover)

Without hyperbole or overstatement, Mixner and Bailey have interwoven different stories about different heroes in the lesbian and gay community to create a cohesive and telling story about our lives and times. This civil rights battle is, unfortunately, still being fought, and books like this will help speed an eventual victory.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring Beyond Words, August 7, 2000

By	"coachnate" (Las Vegas, NV) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Brave Journeys: Profiles in Gay and Lesbian Courage (Hardcover)

I couldn't put it down. Mixner, with Bailey, has done it again. A non-fiction read that is more exciting than fiction. At the same time celebrating the human potential for "what one man (or woman) can do".. I feel a better person for having read it. Going to tell all my friends and family. I've already bought three copies for gifts..