{"product_id":"stand-by-me-jim-downs-9780465032709","title":"Stand by Me: The Forgotten History of Gay Liberation","description":"\u003cb\u003eFrom a prominent young historian, the untold story of the rich variety of gay life in America in the 1970s\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Despite the tremendous gains of the LGBT movement in recent years, the history of gay life in this country remains poorly understood. According to conventional wisdom, gay liberation started with the Stonewall Riots in Greenwich Village in 1969. The 1970s represented a moment of triumph -- both political and sexual -- before the AIDS crisis in the subsequent decade, which, in the view of many, exposed the problems inherent in the so-called \"gay lifestyle\". \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e In \u003ci\u003eStand by Me\u003c\/i\u003e, the acclaimed historian Jim Downs rewrites the history of gay life in the 1970s, arguing that the decade was about much more than sex and marching in the streets. Drawing on a vast trove of untapped records at LGBT community centers in Los Angeles, New York, and Philadelphia, Downs tells moving, revelatory stories of gay people who stood together -- as friends, fellow believers, and colleagues -- to create a sense of community among people who felt alienated from mainstream American life. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e As Downs shows, gay people found one another in the Metropolitan Community Church, a nationwide gay religious group; in the pages of the \u003ci\u003eBody Politic\u003c\/i\u003e, a newspaper that encouraged its readers to think of their sexuality as a political identity; at the Oscar Wilde Memorial Bookstore, the hub of gay literary life in New York City; and at theaters putting on \"Gay American History,\" a play that brought to the surface the enduring problem of gay oppression. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e These and many other achievements would be largely forgotten after the arrival in the early 1980s of HIV\/AIDS, which allowed critics to claim that sex was the defining feature of gay liberation. This reductive narrative set back the cause of gay rights and has shaped the identities of gay people for decades. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e An essential act of historical recovery, \u003ci\u003eStand by Me\u003c\/i\u003e shines a bright light on a triumphant moment, and will transform how we think about gay life in America from the 1970s into the present day.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Jim Downs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0465032702\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780465032709\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Basic Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 03\/01\/2016\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 272\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.00lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.30h x 6.20w x 1.30d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e 01\/01\/2016\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 02\/01\/2016 pg. 87\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e 03\/01\/2016 pg. 33\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eShelf Awareness\u003c\/i\u003e 03\/11\/2016\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChoice\u003c\/i\u003e 10\/01\/2016","brand":"Jim Downs","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":43946642768127,"sku":"9780465032709","price":27.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/products\/img_d3db6167-55b9-4de3-9fa2-f8c838996d09.jpg?v=1681514307","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/stand-by-me-jim-downs-9780465032709","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}