A chronology of two sexual worlds--early Colonial America and early modern United States--combines a wide variety of information, including personal testimony, news reports, medical records, songs, cartoons, and more, to portray the history of gays in America. Original.

Out in All Directions takes the mystery out of gay and lesbian history, lifts the lid off pink politics and paints the town lavender with every aspect of gay life, culture and community.

"This important reference work is one of the first to devote equal attention to both gay men and lesbians. Its objective approach encourages in-depth study of gay and lesbian history, culture, and experience in 20th-century America.. The book's 23 sections include a chronology, an annotated list of organizations, significant historical documents important to the gay and lesbian movement, and in-depth discussions of gay and lesbian involvement in such fields as politics, film, music, science, sports, travel, leisure, and visual and performing arts. Each section includes biographical profiles of prominent people in each field and extensive bibliographies of books. articles, and Web sites. The evenhanded approach to this subject makes this book an important purchase for all libraries."--"Outstanding Reference Sources: the 1999 Selection of New Titles," American Libraries, May 1999. Comp. by the Reference Sources Committee, RUSA, ALA.

City of Friends offers a practical, intelligent, and well-informed overview of what it means to be gay or lesbian. The authors seek to help gay men and women, as well as their families and friends, to better understand the institutions and communities that make up the most culturally and ethnically diverse minority in America today.Beginning with basic concepts, LeVay and Nonas define the words "homosexual," "gay," "lesbian," and "bisexual" and discuss the various patterns of homosexuality in different cultures around the world. They relate the history of the gay and lesbian community in the United States, and its struggle for equal rights and social acceptance, before tackling the question -- still highly controversial -- of what determines an individual's sexual orientation.City of Friends describes the great diversity within the gay and lesbian community: Life in the "gay ghetto." Old lesbians in rural hideaways. Gay resorts. A "town without men." Gay and lesbian Latinos, African-Americans, Asian-Americans, and Native Americans -- what it means to be a minority within a minority. Lesbian and gay youth, the elderly, the deaf. Bisexuals and transsexuals. Academics, drag queens, technoqueers, publishers, softball players -- all make their appearance in these pages.LeVay and Nonas continue with a discussion of health issues (especially of the AIDS epidemic and the community's response to it), the law, and gay and lesbian politics. They describe the cultural achievements of lesbians and gay men -- their art, literature, theater, music, and dance. Finally they take a look at the spiritual life of gays and lesbians, both within and outside of organized religion.

Yellow Woman and a Beauty of the Spirit is a collection of twenty-two powerful and indispensable essays on Native American life, written by one of America's foremost literary voices. Bold and impassioned, sharp and defiant, Leslie Marmon Silko's essays evoke the spirit and voice of Native Americans. Whether she is exploring the vital importance literature and language play in Native American heritage, illuminating the inseparability of the land and the Native American people, enlivening the ways and wisdom of the old-time people, or exploding in outrage over the government's long-standing, racist treatment of Native Americans, Silko does so with eloquence and power, born from her profound devotion to all that is Native American. Yellow Woman and a Beauty of the Spirit is written with the fire of necessity. Silko's call to be heard is unmistakable—there are stories to remember, injustices to redress, ways of life to preserve. It is a work of major importance, filled with indispensable truths—a work by an author with an original voice and a unique access to both worlds.

""Lesbianism, its flories and sorows, is the subject and quest of this marvelously erverse sentimental journey by Nightwood's author ... A striking lesbian mainfesto and a deft parody." Library Journal Blending fiction, myth, and revisionary parody and accompanied by the author's delightful illustrations, Ladies Almanac is also a brilliant modernist composition and arguably the most audacious lesbian text of its time. While the book pokes fun at the wealthy expatriates who were Barnes' literary contemporaries and remains controversial today, it seems to have delighted its cast of characters,

"The Gay Almanac...is the most complete reference book available on gay culture and history, chronicling everything from the gay community's colorful but oft-ignored past to the issues and ideas that concern it most today. Comprehensive, informative, and meticulously researched, The Gay Almanac offers an in-depth look at what it means to be gay in America."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved