Book Review — Gay Power by David Eisenbach

History professor David Eisenbach documents the decades-long movement for LGBT+ equality in the United States

Photo by the Author

Throughout 2024’s Pride Month, I took it upon myself to proactively delve more deeply into the history of my community. After all, the agonizing journeys of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and other queer Americans are rarely given attention in American classrooms.

As a starting point, I read Gay Power: An American Revolution. Authored in 2006 by Columbia University historian David Eisenbach, this compilation follows the struggles of LGBT+ folks from the aftermath of World War II up through the AIDS panic of the 1980s.

Eisenbach is skilled at painting a chronology of Queer America’s unfolding story. He lays out the realities and approaches taken by queer activists, over time, in the face of adversaries and apathetic audiences. Through Eisenbach’s narration, he draws together a wide array of variables and obstacles weighed by the LGBT+ community as its leaders ventured into uncharted territories of activism.

WHY YOU SHOULD READ THIS BOOK

If you want a clearer picture of why Queer Americans have been perceived as a threat by our enemies, Gay Power assesses those…