Homosexuality In History

Rating:
Summary: an "okay" gay history
Review: Spencer is trying to write a history of homosexuality that is not philosophical like Foucault's opus. He traces what I would call gayness from the BC era to the present day. This would be a good book for those unfamiliar with gay history. However, this book felt Eurocentric to me; he mentions little about well-researched areas of same-sex love in Asia or Native America. Also, Spencer's work is cursory; other authors have gone into depth in many of his topic areas. I liked Neil Miller's book on gay and lesbian history since the invention of the word "homosexuality" in the mid-1800s better than this book. This book is also male focused and may rub lesbian and bisexual women the wrong way. Still, for first-time readers of gay studies, this may be a good, initial, comprehensive book.

Rating:
Summary: an "okay" gay history
Review: Spencer is trying to write a history of homosexuality that is not philosophical like Foucault's opus. He traces what I would call gayness from the BC era to the present day. This would be a good book for those unfamiliar with gay history. However, this book felt Eurocentric to me; he mentions little about well-researched areas of same-sex love in Asia or Native America. Also, Spencer's work is cursory; other authors have gone into depth in many of his topic areas. I liked Neil Miller's book on gay and lesbian history since the invention of the word "homosexuality" in the mid-1800s better than this book. This book is also male focused and may rub lesbian and bisexual women the wrong way. Still, for first-time readers of gay studies, this may be a good, initial, comprehensive book.