Rating: 
Summary: Huh?
Review: I am guessing all the reviewers so far have been white gay men--which is the only facade that gay mainstream America is presented with. How original. Mordden has some skill as a writer--he knows his craft but his limitations condemn him to rehash his strengths as a writer rather than expand or illuminate them. His conception of the gay movement is blindingly white and his cursory and removed attempt at dealilng with race in homosexual America is laughable and downright ignorant. I am also puzzled by his need to constantly introduce his sexual fantasies and hang ups into his work--I'm not judging them--I just think he should work them out in another tome which is more erotic than it is literate. Not that he ever approaches the latter category. He tries--but obviously knows the right people--how else does someone who writes so mechanically get published so often?
Rating: 
Summary: This Book Makes Me Wonder What My Calling Is
Review: I cry every time I read this novel. I become so caught up in its intricate character development, and it's so-true-to life tales of gay history make me long for a place in my own gay history. This book, unlike People in History by Felice Picano that also chronicled 30 years of history, tells a fine tale of love, anger, value and friendshp that pulls us apart and keeps us together. Larken and Walt are my two favorite characters, as they both convey a sense of innocence and deep understanding of the world around them. Also, Frank's time in the stories told were incredible - I wonder at times what my calling is, and will be. Also, the story of the Kid is fascinating for its depth, in showing that even those men who perform drag for a lifetime still have a life outside of it to lead. This is a top five book for me, and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys a well told story.
Rating:
Summary: This Book Makes Me Wonder What My Calling Is
Review: I cry every time I read this novel. I become so caught up in its intricate character development, and it's so-true-to life tales of gay history make me long for a place in my own gay history. This book, unlike People in History by Felice Picano that also chronicled 30 years of history, tells a fine tale of love, anger, value and friendshp that pulls us apart and keeps us together. Larken and Walt are my two favorite characters, as they both convey a sense of innocence and deep understanding of the world around them. Also, Frank's time in the stories told were incredible - I wonder at times what my calling is, and will be. Also, the story of the Kid is fascinating for its depth, in showing that even those men who perform drag for a lifetime still have a life outside of it to lead. This is a top five book for me, and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys a well told story.
Rating:
Summary: Our history--please, please buy this!!!
Review: I had read the majority of Ethan Mordden's buddy series before I tackled this book. I think I have purchased it in about 5 different places and given it to friends. It is that important a work. I have an inordinate love of historical fiction, but this book is a the most beautiful tapestry of gay America...back to World War II, when public congregation of gays was illegal, through the beginnings of the Mattachine society on into the 60s and the beginnings of liberation...through the era of AIDS; your heart breaks as you lose one character after another. I felt my emotions had been played like a harp with this book. This work should be on the bookshelf of EVERY gay man and lesbian in America. I aint usually this effusve, folks. This was an incredible novel.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Docu-drama of Gay Life
Review: Not since Armistead Maupin's "Tales of the City" novels have I enjoyed a book that chronicles such a vast spanse of gay and lesbian life. This is the first book I've ever read by Mordden, and man is he fantastic. Beginning in 1949 and ending in the early 1990s he manages not only to capture the pulse beat of gay life over the various years, but even the cadance and dialogue transports you back in time.In it's early sections it's execution reminded me of the film "Far From Heaven" for it's on the nose dialogue and accurate depiction of how gays and lesbians lived in and out of the closet. A wonderful kaleidoscope of characters set amid a variety of backgrounds, the book propels to a simple yet moving climax.
Rating:
Summary: A masterpiece of contemporary (gay) fiction...
Review: Okay, I suppose I may put people off with my gushing review, but I truly do feel that this is an amazing novel.
Ethan Mordden gives us a sprawling history of gay America from the closted, secretive, "Other Side" of the late 1940s-early 1950s; the start of liberation at Stonewall 1969 and the ensuing beginning of Gay Liberation; up to the plague of the aids epidemic in the 1980s, and ends at Gay Pride Week in New York City, 1991. He introduces a diverse cast of (both male & female) characters and follows their growth from the closet to self-acceptance of a gay identity. Lastly, the action of the plot takes place in different cities, ranging from big-city metropolis to small-town America. The resulting combinations of these many possibilities of person, place & time would almost seem to be too much to work well for one novel- instead, Mordden creates an epic work that serves as a complete survey/history/introduction to gay life in America.
This was the first book I read written by Ethan Mordden... I loved it so much that I bought all of his other novels right afterwards and devoured them all quite quickly. This book will prove to be great reading for anyone, but I'd especially recommend it for anyone who has just come out and feels comfortable with being GLBT; this is our history. =)
Rating:
Summary: We Are Everywhere.
Review: Recently a friend of mine was elected head of a GLBT political organization. I gave him a copy of this book, and inscribed it to the effect that if he wished to fight for our rights than he should know whom he is fighting for. Mordden has the ability to cross the boundries of our omnipresent GLBT community. He also follows society's, and our own, perceptions of who we are. There is no niche in which to place us, no place where we cannot be found and no commonality in our community other than our sexual orientation.
Rating: 
Summary: Among The Best Of Gay Fiction
Review: The first time I read this book I found the large cast of characters distracting. The weaving in and about among their stories made it confusing to keep them clear. I was, nevertheless, engaged with the progression of plot events and the march of time. I later gave it to my partner to read and found myself reading over his shoulder. I re-read the book and could this time appreciate the entwined plot details and especially the symbolizing of this era of our society in the characters' lives. This very difficult and challenging task has been handled well by the author. The book serves as both education and fiction. It is wonderful.
Rating:
Summary: Among The Best Of Gay Fiction
Review: The first time I read this book I found the large cast of characters distracting. The weaving in and about among their stories made it confusing to keep them clear. I was, nevertheless, engaged with the progression of plot events and the march of time. I later gave it to my partner to read and found myself reading over his shoulder. I re-read the book and could this time appreciate the entwined plot details and especially the symbolizing of this era of our society in the characters' lives. This very difficult and challenging task has been handled well by the author. The book serves as both education and fiction. It is wonderful.
Rating:
Summary: A great gay novel
Review: This is a book to savor. A sweeping, historic story of the American gay experience. The characters are beatiful and their stories are wonderfully told. It is warm, witty and heartbreaking. Already a substantial book, the reader still wishes there were more when the last page appears.
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