Creating a Place for Ourselves: Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Community Histories

This collection of scholarly essays sets itself the task of uncovering untold stories of gay American history. Selecting times and places from the 1920s to the '60s, from San Francisco to Fire Island, the 13 writers included here, all academics, argue that there is more to gay history than that centered around the Castro and Greenwich Village. Because of its unambitious scope and the banal interviewing techniques of the contributors, the collection does little more than make that single point. The highlight of the book is Esther Newton's piece on Fire Island, in which she makes the case that the gay resort off Long Island would not be what it is without the contributions of several prominent lesbians of the 1930s. Newton's article does what the other essays probably should have done--combine interesting facts and minutiae with a good narrative and compelling historical characters. The other 12 pieces gather a dozen or so incidental facts and provide particular historical reference material to make a walk through the neighborhood a bit more resonant. Thus the book is more a tool for those engaged in similar lines of study than a useful study in itself. Beemyn teaches African American history at the University of Iowa. (June)