The Stonewall Reader

4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars | 392 ratings

Price: 15.75

Last update: 07-01-2024


Top reviews from the United States

CDM
5.0 out of 5 stars Learn About Our Past, LGBT+ Children
Reviewed in the United States on September 9, 2019
In light of the 50th Anniversary of Stonewall, picked up this particular book because it looked to be interesting, and it was.
This volume is compiled from multiple sources pre-, during, and post- Stonewall (the author lists them out as you read through) and gives a deep narrative than the more "sanitized" version of Stonewall that's existed out there.
Being LGBT+ hasn't been all sunshine and mimosas, and the stories of what people had gone through during that time (and are still going through today) should let you know that the fight for LGBT+ equality isn't over.

What I also like about this book is that the people in it aren't shy about being who they are...even if our fee-fees in the PC "I can't hear anything that might ever offend me" culture of 2019 couldn't handle it...the people in this compilation LIVED the Stonewall period...they didn't have the decades of memory making it rainbow and corporate-sponsored to forget the rough parts...which should never be forgotten.
Kt
5.0 out of 5 stars Must read
Reviewed in the United States on August 8, 2019
This was an insightful reading! It painted a picture of what was happening in history before, during, and after Stonewall, but it also spoke to people's emotions and feelings. It portraits the linkage among humans. Other social movements are interwind and intersected both in history but also in the revolution, such as women or Afro-american's rights.
Also, there is some beautiful and raw writing, which is also so much appreciated!
Highly recommended!
Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Personal accounts of the Stonewall Riots
Reviewed in the United States on June 26, 2020
This anthology of the Stonewall Riots is broken into 3 sections: before, during, and after the riots. The stories are deeply personal accounts of the stigma, harassment, pain and isolation experienced by lesbians and gays and how the Stonewll Riots not only helped changed societies perceptions but their own perceptions of themselves as well. The voices have to be read as a product of their time with an understanding of how different identities such as trans and queens people and racial experiences were understood and intersected in the environment surrounding the riots
Steven Kerry
4.0 out of 5 stars Here's the Reason Why Gay People Don't Find it Necessary to Be Activists in Current Times
Reviewed in the United States on January 18, 2024
Read this book if you want to know what the word "courage" really means. This is a collection of articles written by people who stuck out their necks in the years before gay liberation caught fire sometime in the '70s. As such, along with the book "The Gay Revolution", it takes us into the lives of people who risked life and limb to protest, march, boycott, disrupt, and make noise until we were heard by those in positions of power.
The current and strangely apathetic generation of gay people are too focused on personal identity, CAPS, and their cellphones to take the time to learn about their own history, but here is a crucial part of it. My only quibble with the book is that its content is a bit top-heavy with the lesbian voices. I read it all with interest nonetheless as they were indeed participants in the Stonewall uprising. I know I shall sound politically incorrect here, but the lives and experience of gay men are different in various ways from that of lesbians. I won't elaborate, just ask any gay man if his life is as safe or socially acceptable as a lesbian's. However, that was not necessarily the case in the '50s and '60s so the representation, although a bit content-heavy, is justifiable.
Kudos to the publisher (Penguin, a high quality publisher) for publishing this book. It should be essential reading for every CAP in the train of CAPS as the rest of you under our expanded umbrella were there confronting the police in 1969 as well. This book is raw history (or "herstory" if you prefer). I recognized only a few names of the contributors but many of them personally witnessed the Stonewall uprising, adding to what is a fascinating book. The last 4 or 5 pages are sobering and jaw-dropping reminders of the scary reality these brave people were dealing with.... in America.
Hobbit
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Accounts by those who were there
Reviewed in the United States on June 2, 2019
This book has wonderful, first hand accounts of people who were early participants in the LGBT movement. It's a volume well worth reading and keeping for future reference. My only wish is that it had been printed on better paper as the
pages of the book will soon brown and become brittle.
MB
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Anthology
Reviewed in the United States on July 16, 2019
This is an excellent collection of literature that comes in different genres (journal article, memoir, novel, interview, etc.). The diversity of the genres and the broad topics that are covered give the book an interesting, refreshing, authoritative perspective. Wonderful editorial job by The New York Public Library.
Centaur32
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent! Must Read!!
Reviewed in the United States on September 29, 2020
This book gives a much different perspective on the Stonewall riots which have undergone a mythological aspect depending on the book you read. This book is a series of essays that take place in the years leading up to the riot, the actual riot, and the years following. It's a must read if you want to understand the decades long struggle toward equality for the LGBTQ Community, and the struggle that continues and will continue for generations to come.
Sarah
5.0 out of 5 stars The first pride was a riot
Reviewed in the United States on December 11, 2019
Each essay and story is very unique. A collection that covers the before and after of this historic event. So many LHBTQ+ youths do not know about such an important piece of history.
“The first pride was a riot”

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