Eric Marcus

“Rich and often moving . . . at times shocking, but often enlightening and oral history at its most potent and rewarding.” —  Kirkus Reviews A completely revised and updated edition of the classic volume of oral history interviews with high-profile leaders and little-known participants in the gay rights movement that cumulatively provides a powerful documentary look at the struggle for gay rights in America. From the Boy Scouts and the U.S. military to marriage and adoption, the gay civil rights movement has exploded on the national stage. Eric Marcus takes us back in time to the earliest days of that struggle in a newly revised and thoroughly updated edition of Making History , originally published in 1992. Using the heartfelt stories of more than sixty people, he carries us through a compelling five-decade battle that has changed the fabric of American society. The rich tapestry that emerges from Making Gay History includes the inspiring voices of teenagers and grandparents, journalists and housewives, from the little-known Dr. Evelyn Hooker and Morty Manford to former vice president Al Gore, Ellen DeGeneres, and Abigail Van Buren. Together, these many stories bear witness to a time of astonishing change, as queer people have struggled against prejudice and fought for equal rights under the law.

When Making History was first published in 1992, the acclaimed oral historian Studs Terkel called it, “One of the definitive works on gay life.” Novelist Armistead Maupin said that author “Eric Marcus not only writes with grace and clarity but makes it look so easy—the ultimate measure of historian and novelist alike.” Now, for the first time, the original complete edition of Making History is available in e-book.  Through his engaging oral histories, Eric Marcus traces the unfolding of LGBTQ civil rights effort from a group of small, independent underground organizations and publications into a national movement, covering the years from 1945 to 1990. Here are the stories of its remarkable pioneers: a diverse group of nearly fifty Americans, who hail from all corners of the nation.  From the period in history when homosexuals were routinely beaten by police to the day when gay rights leaders were first invited to the White House, Making History is the story of an against-all-odds struggle that has succeeded in bringing about changes in American society that were once unimaginable.