Pride: An Inspirational History of the LGBTQ+ Movement

Caldwell’s wide-ranging, clearly contextualized account of LGBTQ history, told across seven chapters, begins with “evidence of same-sex love in almost all ancient civilizations” and follows through to today. Bolstered by timelines, the primer details LGBTQ rights over time, including periods of advancement and backlash, Pride’s beginnings, and the HIV/AIDS crisis, among other topics. Profiles of queer luminaries dot each section, including of Marlene Dietrich, Lili Elbe, Marsha P. Johnson, Audre Lord, and Harvey Milk. Additional boxes provide one-line biographies of lesser-known figures, while first-person interstitials from queer youth anchor Pride firmly in the present. Though the book’s lively scrapbook feel is largely engaging, it occasionally jars, as on a spread that juxtaposes a cartoon image of barbed wire with a 1938 photograph of gay concentration camp prisoners. Nevertheless, this well-paced history offers an engaging survey of a movement—and of individuals working to help “LGBTQ+ people in all their diversity to be visible, proud, and safe.” Includes a foreword by actor Layton Williams and back matter with a glossary, index, and further information. Ages 10–up. (Apr.)