Brave Journeys: Profiles in Gay and Lesbian Courage

By David Mixner and Dennis Bailey

Book Overview

InStranger Among Friends, renowned activist, political adviser, and White House insider David Mixner offered a compelling account of his decades-long fight for human rights and the challenges he faced as a gay man in Washington. Now, in this new book written with collaborator Dennis Bailey, Mixner presents moving, candid, and inspiring portraits of other extraordinary men and women engaged in the struggle for equality. Brave Journeys: Profiles in Gay and Lesbian CourageFrom a top-gun pilot in the U.S. Navy to an authority on antigay violence, from a member of the president's administration to a leading Shakespearean actor,Brave Journeystells the stirring stories of seven intrepid men and women who effectively challenged the status quo and thereby altered the political and societal landscape of the world we live in. In these pages we meet Hispanic-American Dianne Hardy-Garcia, executive director of the Lesbian and Gay Rights Lobby of Texas and a passionate crusader against hate crimes; Elaine Noble, the feisty veteran of Boston's busing wars who became the first openly gay person to be elected to a state office in the United States-the Massachusetts State Legislature; brilliant British actor Sir Ian McKellen, who came out as a gay man and an activist in one very public moment on the BBC; Roberta Achtenberg, who braved the venomous homophobia of Jesse Helms in Senate confirmation hearings for her appointment to the Department of Housing and Urban Development; Lieutenant Tracy Thorne, a Navy fighter pilot living his lifelong dream of flight who outed himself on Nightline to challenge the U.S. military's policy against gays and lesbians, fully aware that this would mean the end of his Navy career; and San Franciscans Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon, founders of the first national lesbian organization, the Daughters of Bilitis, who have celebrated fifty years together as a couple.??Powerful and eloquent,Brave Journeysis David Mixner's tribute to gay men and lesbians who have made a difference. Rich in private bravery and public risk, these profiles comprise a vivid map of the gay rights movement over the last fifty years-and individually they testify to the power of courage to force change against profoundly overwhelming odds.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0553106511
• ISBN13: 9780553106510
• Release Date: August 2000
• Publisher: Bantam Books
• Length: 337 Pages
• Weight: 1.44 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.5" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

Thoughtful, Well Done, and Needed

Without hyperbole or overstatement, Mixner and Bailey have interwoven different stories about different heroes in the lesbian and gay community to create a cohesive and telling story about our lives and times. This civil rights battle is, unfortunately, still being fought, and books like this will help speed an eventual victory.

Inspiring Beyond Words

I couldn't put it down. Mixner, with Bailey, has done it again. A non-fiction read that is more exciting than fiction. At the same time celebrating the human potential for "what one man (or woman) can do".. I feel a better person for having read it. Going to tell all my friends and family. I've already bought three copies for gifts..

Wonderful Book !

Provides a great insite into the gay community by sharing the struggles of heros in the community. Brings meaning to the word PRIDE !

Great American Hero---Excellent Reading

Mr. Mixner has done it again--his leadership and dedication to the Gay community makes him a true American Hero. Excellent Reading