Important, interesting read but very academic.

Lots of great information and well organized...but it dragged.

Its not so much a book on Stonewall as it is a culmination of histories leading up to, and immediately following, Stonewall. It is refreshing, in many ways, to read biographies on queer/trans persons involved in the early Gay Liberation movement who aren't necessarily always associated with this period -- though the QUEEN Sylvia Rivera is featured heavily in this book, and many of her sections as an adult, left me smiling.

Good:

• Duberman outlines a meticulous history of early gay rights groups that is often not covered. Of course we /know/ what the Mattachine Society and Daughters of Bilitis were, but what were their internal structures like? How did they come to have such a monumental following [for this era anyway]? It outlines this, and provides much clarity for pre-Stonewall gay rights.

• in the same breath, Duberman does not shy away from exposing the racism, transphobia, sexism, and internalized homophobia of these early groups. He dives fully into very valid critiques against early groups like MS and DOB, and documents the repetitive patterns of this throughout the 1960s, into the early post-Stonewall era of 1970. He engages necessary criticisms of white man homophobia, white lesbian woman racism, white gay man racism, white gay man misogyny, and white gay and straight men and women transphobia. I can appreciate this engagement a lot.

• Duberman really emphasizes the story of the dialectical struggles between the old homophile movement, which was extremely conservative [as a bisexual transgender person, I would definitely not be welcome in any of the early homophile movements], and the growing radical youth faction that came to lead the Stonewall rebellion and bring gay rights into the various liberation struggles happening concurrently -- successfully connecting them through struggle.

Not so good:

• Ironically, as much as Duberman exposed these issues, the people whose stories he tell, also have their stories skewed, based on race and gender. The book covers 6 people: 4 white people -- in that, 3 gay men and 1 lesbian woman, 1 Black Lesbian woman, and 1 Puerto Rican transgender woman. It was a disappointment to see that the 3 white gay men are more frequently featured throughout the book, especially towards the end where Jim Fourratt seems to be on every page, while the 1 white lesbian [Karla Jay] is mentioned less frequently, but still much more than Sylvia Rivera, who is still mentioned more frequently than Yvonne Flowers, whose story is definitely not expanded upon much. I wanted more about Sylvia and Yvonne especially.

Overall, a pretty great introduction into the detailed history of early gay rights. Duberman did it justice.

Overall, really good. I liked delving into the pasts of some early activists, and the description of the riot itself captured what must have been a very crazy, confusing moment in time. It got a little dull, sometimes, when discussing some personal aspects of the people. I recommend it as a good history of a pivotal moment in our history.