-
“This boisterous history captures the variety and creativity of the sexual outsiders who congregated around the economic hub of the Brooklyn Navy Yard.”
— New York Times
-
“A funny, tender, and disturbing history of LGBT life… uncovering what life was like for ‘ordinary’ queer folk.”
— The Guardian (London)
-
“[A] boisterous, motley new history…an entertaining and insightful chronicle…enhanced by original research in newspaper archives, unpublished letters, and collections of ephemera.”
— New York Times Book Review
-
“The archival discoveries that Ryan has made evoke a world of affection and pleasure.”
— New Republic
-
“Traces the borough’s vibrant, forgotten queer history…restoring its rightful place in the saga of Brooklyn.”
— Bay Area Reporter
-
“A journey through the queer history of Brooklyn, full of vaudeville and poetry.”
— Jezebel.com
-
“An exquisite, strange, and beautiful book.”
— Out.com
-
“Employing a dynamic combination of meticulous research and impassioned prose, Ryan… offers a richly evocative chronicle filled with notable queer game-changers…a romantic, exquisite history of gay culture.”
— Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
-
“A lively, character-filled portrait and well-researched analysis…[that] offers a valuable broadening of historical perspective.”
— Publishers Weekly
-
“Thorough research, engaging storytelling, fascinating stories, and a history of obscurity make this investigation of queer Brooklyn a compelling, essential read.”
— Shelf Awareness
-
“Fascinating…Greater attention is given, however, to those who, once influential, have now been forgotten. Bringing them alive again is one of the valuable services Ryan’s fine work contributes to queer history.”
— Booklist
-
“Ryan lays out how this history began in many ways on the Brooklyn waterfront…[in] a period of relatively little oversight by police allowed a flourishing of queer life.”
— Literary Hub
-
“Tender, compelling, fascinating—Hugh Ryan is doing essential work here, bringing us stories of the lives we almost lost to time and gentrification…Brave and unstinting.”
— Alexander Chee, author of The Queen of the Night
-
“Brilliant work…A thrilling portrait of the endurance, resourcefulness, and indefatigable joy queer people brought to bear upon the challenge of their own survival.”
— Garth Greenwell, author of What Belongs to You