{"product_id":"gay-bar-the-fabulous-true-story-of-a-daring-woman-and-her-boys-in-the-1950s-9780299248505","title":"Gay Bar: The Fabulous, True Story of a Daring Woman and Her Boys in the 1950s","description":"\u003cp\u003eVivacious, unconventional, candid, and straight, Helen Branson operated a gay bar in Los Angeles in the 1950s--America's most anti-gay decade. After years of fending off drunken passes as an entertainer in cocktail bars, this divorced grandmother preferred the wit, variety, and fun she found among homosexual men. Enjoying their companionship and deploring their plight, she gave her gay friends a place to socialize. Though at the time California statutes prohibited homosexuals from gathering in bars, Helen's place was relaxed, suave, and remarkably safe from police raids and other anti-homosexual hazards. In 1957 she published her extraordinary memoir \u003ci\u003eGay Bar\u003c\/i\u003e, the first book by a heterosexual to depict the lives of homosexuals with admiration, respect, and love.\u003cbr\u003e In this new edition of \u003ci\u003eGay Bar\u003c\/i\u003e, Will Fellows interweaves Branson's chapters with historical perspective provided through his own insightful commentary and excerpts gleaned from letters and essays appearing in gay publications of the period. Also included is the original introduction to the book by maverick 1950s psychiatrist Blanche Baker. The eclectic selection of voices gives the flavor of American life in that extraordinary age of anxiety, revealing how gay men saw themselves and their circumstances, and how others perceived them.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOutstanding Book, selected by the Public Library Association\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBest Books for High Schools, selected by the American Association of School Libraries\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Will Fellows\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University of Wisconsin Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 10\/02\/2001\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 186\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.89lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.22h x 6.28w x 0.76d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780299248505\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 07\/26\/2010\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 08\/01\/2010 pg. 98\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWill Fellows is author of the pathbreaking, acclaimed books \u003ci\u003eFarm Boys: Lives of Gay Men from the Rural Midwest\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eA Passion to Preserve: Gay Men as Keepers of Culture\u003c\/i\u003e, both published by the University of Wisconsin Press. He lives in Milwaukee.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"University of Wisconsin Press","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":40490350641267,"sku":"9.7803E+12","price":35.95,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0555\/9255\/0515\/products\/img_62f89bc0-674f-4ec0-9ab2-2ba13040047b.jpg?v=1664889201","url":"https:\/\/bookstorenmore.com\/en-de\/products\/gay-bar-the-fabulous-true-story-of-a-daring-woman-and-her-boys-in-the-1950s-9780299248505","provider":"Bookstore N More","version":"1.0","type":"link"}