A review by cmw63h
Stonewall by Martin Duberman

2.0

Sadly this one missed the mark for a few reasons:
1) Of the six individuals highlighted, some were given much more attention than others and were clearly favored by the author
2) Building off of #1, the flow of the book was difficult to follow, partly because some characters would not be mentioned for chapters on end. By the time they resurfaced in the narrative, I had forgotten where their storyline previously left off
4) For the amount of research that was done to write this, there were moments that felt gossipy and baseless
5) It took 200 pages to get to the actual Stonewall riots, and even then, only two of the individuals highlighted in the book were actually present at the riots. Much of the book is spent telling personal histories of the six individuals in the time leading up to the riots. I understand the purpose of the book is to raise awareness for those who are not typically at the forefront of discussions about the history of gay rights, but titling the book "Stonewall" is misleading

I think this would make a good companion piece for other Stonewall-related reads where the riots themselves, and the persecution, injustices, and actions leading up to them, are the focus of the narrative. As for this one, I would certainly not consider it a "Definitive Story of the LGBTQ Rights Uprising that Changed America"