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pbraue13's review against another edition
5.0
Similar to Shilts' "And the Band Played On" I feel like this book should be essential reading for any gay person or any gay person involved in politics. It charts gays and lesbians being present in the military from the Revolutionary War to Bill Clinton's election in the 90s, predating the "Don't Ask Don't Tell" era by seconds (Shilts' finished this book on his sick bed and soon died in 1994 due to AIDS complications sadly depriving us of any other stimulating nonfiction books by the writer). It's an amazing and infuriating piece of work like Shilts' previous books showing that the only "conduct unbecoming" was that of the government and homophobic politicians.
5/5 stars
5/5 stars
amloth's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
An incredible mass of literature. Expertly written. A sickening display of how far the U.S government have gone to deny people human rights. A testament to the hypocrisy of the armed forces and wow what the fuck is up with the NIS jfc. Would be fascinating to have a follow up of DADT to endnote this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Hate crime, Emotional abuse, Religious bigotry, Outing, Homophobia, Misogyny, Lesbophobia, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Violence, Cursing, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Sexual violence, Death, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Chronic illness, Suicide, Terminal illness, and War
punchofwishes's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
5.0
This was truly the mammoth task of reading Randy Shilts' bibliography, a nearly 800 page in-depth examination of the history of gay and lesbian people in the military. With his common precision, compassion, and razor sharp vocabulary, this book does what few manage: to interest you in a subject you may never have found yourself caring this much about. Reading And the Band Played On before Conduct Unbecoming made this an even stronger reading experience. I had heard of a few of the individuals covered in this book, but never in this vivid of a portrayal and set in this detailed of a context. Despite it's age, this remains a vital read for anyone interested enough to not be scared by the sheer volume. Another outstanding work by Shilts.
sfletcher26's review against another edition
4.0
I am sad, in many ways to finish this book because of the realisation that this is the last book Shilts wrote before his own untimely death and that it was sadly in many ways an unfinished project.
Only in resent years has the policy on gays serving in the military been rightly cast down. I have to wonder therefore what Shilts would have made of the fact that it still took anther 20 years for it to happen.
I would heartily recommend this book though I have to say it does wonder a little from its own brief.
Only in resent years has the policy on gays serving in the military been rightly cast down. I have to wonder therefore what Shilts would have made of the fact that it still took anther 20 years for it to happen.
I would heartily recommend this book though I have to say it does wonder a little from its own brief.
iguana_mama's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
spacestationtrustfund's review against another edition
3.0
I have so much respect and admiration for Shilts's journalistic style. This book gave me more information on the US military than I or anyone should have to know.
crunden's review against another edition
⤑ research tag: in an effort to organise my shelves, I’m going to be labelling the books I’m using for study purposes as I tend to dip in and out of these.
jaimebz's review against another edition
challenging
dark
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
3.25
Such an important and thorough documentation of history, but prohibitively long…
gannent's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
slow-paced
3.0
Disappointed in the lack of information about the Korean War. It’s really a history of Vietnam to Desert Storm, which is fine but not what I was expecting from the title and description. Also it’s more of a legal history of the anti homosexual policies in the US military as opposed to a study of gay life in the military. But the goal of the book seems to be to demonstrate that the life of a gay soldier was one inherently involved in the legal system. I was interested in stories of gay life (like the “Connie Girls”) but these were only mentioned as asides except when they served to dramatize the setting for another purge. It’s definitely valuable and I learned a lot about the excesses of the military’s anti gay witch hunts but I wanted more angles to the huge topic of “gays in the military.” Also didn’t appreciate the condescending asides about anti military gay activists.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Medical content, Mental illness, Misogyny, Outing, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexism, and Sexual harassment
ze3k4y's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
4.0
Slow at times and a long read. But a lot of info. Not a ton of critical analysis of impacts of US military action on other peoples but that's not what they advertised the book as anyway.