Compare prices and save on cheap textbooks at CheapestTextbooks.com
Compare prices and save on cheap textbooks at CheapestTextbooks.com HACKER SAFE certified sites prevent over 99.9% of hacker crime.
CheapestCDPrice.comCheapestDVDPrice.comCheapestTextbooks.comGo to CheapestTextbooks USA!Go to CheapestTextbooks UK!
Add us to your favorites! | Selling Textbooks? | Link to our site
Multi-Store Textbook Search
  
(What's this?)
Selected Product:

Coming Out Under Fire
Coming Out Under Fire

Paperback
Author: Allan Berube
Publisher: Free Press
Release Date: 2000-04-01
ISBN-10: 0743210719
ISBN-13: 9780743210713
List Price: $25.95
Average Customer Rating:
Score = 4.5 Score = 4.5 Score = 4.5 Score = 4.5 Score = 4.5
Similar Products

Zami: A New Spelling of My Name (Crossing Press Feminist Series)
Zami: A New Spelling of My Name (Crossing Press Feminist Series)
ISBN-10: 0895941228
ISBN-13: 9780895941220
List Price:$16.95


Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities
Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities
ISBN-10: 0226142671
ISBN-13: 9780226142678
List Price:$20.00


The Lavender Scare: The Cold War Persecution of Gays and Lesbians in the Federal Government
The Lavender Scare: The Cold War Persecution of Gays and Lesbians in the Federal Government
ISBN-10: 0226401901
ISBN-13: 9780226401904
List Price:$20.00


Zami: A New Spelling of My Name (Crossing Press Feminist Series)
Zami: A New Spelling of My Name (Crossing Press Feminist Series)
ISBN-10: 0895941228
ISBN-13: 0028195941229
List Price:$16.95


Gay New York: Gender, Urban Culture, and the Making of the Gay Male World, 1890-1940
Gay New York: Gender, Urban Culture, and the Making of the Gay Male World, 1890-1940
ISBN-10: 0465026214
ISBN-13: 9780465026210
List Price:$22.00


Our Review: To use our price comparison to get the cheapest price, please click on the "Find the Cheapest Price" button located above for Coming Out Under Fire by Allan Berube (ISBN-10: 0743210719, ISBN-13: 9780743210713).

At this time we have not yet written a review for Coming Out Under Fire by Allan Berube (ISBN-10: 0743210719, ISBN-13: 9780743210713). Please continue to keep checking back to this page as we are constantly adding reviews.

Summaries and Customer Reviews are supplied by Amazon.com

Summary:
Allan Berube chronicles the story of the thousands of gay men and lesbian women who were among those proudly serving their country during the World War II years. Coming Out Under Fire is an invaluable contribution not only to gay history, but also to an aspect of our military history that is often ignored yet still affects thousands of GIs and veterans.

Customer Reviews
Average Customer Rating: Score = 4.5 Score = 4.5 Score = 4.5 Score = 4.5 Score = 4.5

Valuable source of gay veterans' stories
 Customer Rating:  Score = 4 Score = 4 Score = 4 Score = 4 Score = 4
The value of this book lies in its compilation of first-person, firsthand stories from WWII veterans about being gay or lesbian and in the service during the worst war ever fought. From how they answered the single psych screening question at induction: "Do you like girls?"; to the gleeful sneaking around in basic or on base; to the heartbreaking stories of lovers losing each other on the battlefield, and the shocking humanity of straight comrades who found out; to the awfulness of being outed and the shame of the blue discharge--the vets' stories make this book worthwhile. When the book delves deep into policy discussions, or asserts its thesis that the GLBT experience in WWII helped structure the gay liberation movement of a generation later, it loses impact. Still, a worthwhile and necessary addition to any library about gay history, or World War II.

In-Depth, Scholarly, yet Engaging
 Customer Rating:  Score = 5 Score = 5 Score = 5 Score = 5 Score = 5
This is a very well-researched study of a subject that has long been hidden and ignored. In addition to being a top-quality study of America's treatment of gay & lesbian citizens in the WW II era, it is also important to help understand today's attitudes and problems. Most revealing is how the military's post-war changes in attitude propelled America's evolution into a homophobic nation.

Coming Out Under Fire
 Customer Rating:  Score = 4 Score = 4 Score = 4 Score = 4 Score = 4
This work is of sole academic interest. It would be particularly so to students of WW11, or the social history of the USA. It is a good read and quite informative regarding the lives of citizens who were to give us the modern society in which we live today.

A valuable perspective on World War II
 Customer Rating:  Score = 5 Score = 5 Score = 5 Score = 5 Score = 5
"Coming Out Under Fire: The History of Gay Men and Women in World War II," by Allan Berube, is a fascinating and well-written piece of American history. The author draws from a rich variety of sources in order to tell this story. Among the topics he covers are the following: the process of being inducted into the armed forces in that era, the experiences of gay people in the training phase, gay social life stateside (particularly in the major port cities), the threat of harassment by military police, the role of military psychiatrists in our culture's evolving understanding of homosexuality, and the experiences of gay soldiers in combat.

Berube also reveals the tensions that occurred within the military establishment as efforts were made to refine and reform policies dealing with homosexuality. He discusses the interrogation and imprisonment of gay troops. Other interesting topics covered are gay slang and coded language, and the use of female impersonators in GI shows like "This Is the Army."

The book includes a number of black-and-white photographs and reproductions. There is also a note on sources used, such as interviews, letters, and government documents. There are also extensive endnotes. Throughout the book, Berube brings forth the voices of many WW2 veterans. Ultimately he looks at the impact of WW2 on the evolution of gay culture and political activism. I consider this book to be an essential companion to Randy Shilts' monumental "Conduct Unbecoming: Gays & Lesbians in the U.S. Military," which focuses on the post-WW2 era. "Coming Out Under Fire" is a remarkable achievement: poignant and inspiring, it is a valuable addition to the fields of both lesbian and gay studies and military history.

Time to honor these heros
 Customer Rating:  Score = 4 Score = 4 Score = 4 Score = 4 Score = 4
Simply stated, this was not an easy book to read. One has only to scan the first chapter to begin cringing at the shameful way that gay and lesbian soldiers were treated by their own government.

It can certainly be said that The United States of America has more to be proud of than most nations. Our achievements are many and justly celebrated. However, there are episodes in our great nation's history which cause us to feel anger, contempt and sorrow. We must remember that it was "we the people" who allowed the near genocide of America's indigenous peoples; the enslavement of hundreds of thousands of Africans; the internment of Japanese Americans during WWII; the persecution of American Leftists during the McCarthy era; and, just as egregious, the wanton and callus betrayal of American soldiers who's only crime was being born gay or lesbian.

Stories of inhuman degradation at the hands of a malicious psychiatric community bent on establishing a solid and permanent reputation within the medical community, are plentiful.

The great majority of these men and women served the Untied States with distinction. That their patriotism was met with contempt, and their lives often ruined by a "blue" discharge, is a stain on our nation's honor.


























Suggestions | Textbook Store Reviews | Site Map | Textbook Reviews | Contact Us
Cheap Textbooks | Used Textbooks | Discount Textbooks | Buy College Textbooks
© 2008 . All rights reserved. Privacy Statement and Disclaimer
web site design and support by Crystal Solutions