... brilliant.

... falls short of perfection. But not by much.

If the L.G.B.T.Q. movement had saints, a Jewish homosexual atheist scientist named Franklin Kameny would have an exalted place in the pantheon.

...a brisk, clear-eyed new biography.

Cervini’s complex and layered narrative contains many threads.

Timely and essential, Cervini’s book is packed with nearly forgotten events and brave stories that will expand the understanding of queer history for many readers.

... ambitious, diffuse.

His is a fascinating story, and Cervini does it more than ample justice in this insightful, meticulously detailed book. He has clearly done a remarkable job of research, creating an absolutely indispensable, highly readable work of history that belongs in every library..

Cervini is wide-ranging in his coverage of such topics as the medical classification of homosexuality as deviance and the government’s justification for not hiring gay workers for fear that they would be security risks.

Weaving the Kinsey report, FBI director J. Edgar Hoover’s 'Sex Deviates' program tracking homosexual arrests and allegations, and the 1969 Stonewall riots into his portrait, Cervini provides essential context, but occasionally overstuffs the narrative with undigested material, including trial transcripts and interviews. Readers interested in the origins of the LGBTQ rights movement will be deeply informed by this meticulous account..