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Homosexuality and Civilization
How have major civilizations of the last two millennia treated people who were attracted to their own sex? In a narrative tour de force, Louis Crompton chronicles the lives and achievements of homosexual men and women alongside a darker history of persecution, as he compares the Christian West with the cultures of ancient Greece and Rome, Arab Spain, imperial China, and pre-Meiji Japan.
Ancient Greek culture celebrated same-sex love in history, literature, and art, making high claims for its moral influence. By contrast, Jewish religious leaders in the sixth century B.C.E. branded male homosexuality as a capital offense and, later, blamed it for the destruction of the biblical city of Sodom. When these two traditions collided in Christian Rome during the late empire, the tragic repercussions were felt throughout Europe and the New World.
Louis Crompton traces Church-inspired mutilation, torture, and burning of "sodomites" in sixth-century Byzantium, medieval France, Renaissance Italy, and in Spain under the Inquisition. But Protestant authorities were equally committed to the execution of homosexuals in the Netherlands, Calvin's Geneva, and Georgian England. The root cause was religious superstition, abetted by political ambition and sheer greed. Yet from this cauldron of fears and desires, homoerotic themes surfaced in the art of the Renaissance masters--Donatello, Leonardo, Michelangelo, Sodoma, Cellini, and Caravaggio--often intertwined with Christian motifs. Homosexuality also flourished in the court intrigues of Henry III of France, Queen Christina of Sweden, James I and William III of England, Queen Anne, and Frederick the Great.
Anti-homosexual atrocities committed in the West contrast starkly with the more tolerant traditions of pre-modern China and Japan, as revealed in poetry, fiction, and art and in the lives of emperors, shoguns, Buddhist priests, scholars, and actors. In the samurai tradition of Japan, Crompton makes clear, the celebration of same-sex love rivaled that of ancient Greece.
Sweeping in scope, elegantly crafted, and lavishly illustrated, "Homosexuality and Civilization" is a stunning exploration of a rich and terrible past.
Ancient Greek culture celebrated same-sex love in history, literature, and art, making high claims for its moral influence. By contrast, Jewish religious leaders in the sixth century B.C.E. branded male homosexuality as a capital offense and, later, blamed it for the destruction of the biblical city of Sodom. When these two traditions collided in Christian Rome during the late empire, the tragic repercussions were felt throughout Europe and the New World.
Louis Crompton traces Church-inspired mutilation, torture, and burning of "sodomites" in sixth-century Byzantium, medieval France, Renaissance Italy, and in Spain under the Inquisition. But Protestant authorities were equally committed to the execution of homosexuals in the Netherlands, Calvin's Geneva, and Georgian England. The root cause was religious superstition, abetted by political ambition and sheer greed. Yet from this cauldron of fears and desires, homoerotic themes surfaced in the art of the Renaissance masters--Donatello, Leonardo, Michelangelo, Sodoma, Cellini, and Caravaggio--often intertwined with Christian motifs. Homosexuality also flourished in the court intrigues of Henry III of France, Queen Christina of Sweden, James I and William III of England, Queen Anne, and Frederick the Great.
Anti-homosexual atrocities committed in the West contrast starkly with the more tolerant traditions of pre-modern China and Japan, as revealed in poetry, fiction, and art and in the lives of emperors, shoguns, Buddhist priests, scholars, and actors. In the samurai tradition of Japan, Crompton makes clear, the celebration of same-sex love rivaled that of ancient Greece.
Sweeping in scope, elegantly crafted, and lavishly illustrated, "Homosexuality and Civilization" is a stunning exploration of a rich and terrible past.
640 pages, Paperback
First published November 15, 2003
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
October 4, 2014
Dr. Crompton provides a thoroughly researched and well presented survey of same-sex attraction and sexuality in Europe and East Asia. He provides some information about Central America as well, but evidently Africa, South Asia, pre-Columbian North and South America, Oceania, and the Caribbean do not fall under the rubric of "civilization." Ahem. Unexamined racism is annoying. He does, happily, pay attention to female sexuality in the book.
Given that this book purports to be a global survey, the exclusion of large parts of the world is striking--especially since there is extensive ethnographic data on historical same-sex attraction and sexuality in the ignored regions available in the scientific and academic literature. I read a great deal of it as an anthropology undergrad before this book was published. *roll eyes* This is a big reason why people complain about dead, white male academics...
The author did manage to pull me out of the camp of Michel Foucault and others who maintain that the late nineteenth century role of "homosexual" was the first historically defined social group based on sexual orientation. Crompton's documentation of earlier social identities based around same-sex attraction is solid and convincing. Note, however, that these past social roles are NOT the same as the modern one. And here Dr. Crompton stumbles very badly. He uses the term "homosexual" repeatedly throughout the book to describe people with same-sex attraction whose lives and social roles had nothing to do with the modern concept. Furthermore, the word did not even exist in the eras in which he insisted on using it. This was particularly surprising given his fairly careful analysis of social roles and language at other points in the text. Lazy, bad scholar. No biscuit!
Homosexuality and Civilization is worth reading even with the major problems I've noted. Conceptual sins aside, Dr. Crompton presents his survey of Europe and East Asia very well. Just bear in mind that he ignores large parts of the globe inhabited by brown and black people (who are not part of "civilization").
Given that this book purports to be a global survey, the exclusion of large parts of the world is striking--especially since there is extensive ethnographic data on historical same-sex attraction and sexuality in the ignored regions available in the scientific and academic literature. I read a great deal of it as an anthropology undergrad before this book was published. *roll eyes* This is a big reason why people complain about dead, white male academics...
The author did manage to pull me out of the camp of Michel Foucault and others who maintain that the late nineteenth century role of "homosexual" was the first historically defined social group based on sexual orientation. Crompton's documentation of earlier social identities based around same-sex attraction is solid and convincing. Note, however, that these past social roles are NOT the same as the modern one. And here Dr. Crompton stumbles very badly. He uses the term "homosexual" repeatedly throughout the book to describe people with same-sex attraction whose lives and social roles had nothing to do with the modern concept. Furthermore, the word did not even exist in the eras in which he insisted on using it. This was particularly surprising given his fairly careful analysis of social roles and language at other points in the text. Lazy, bad scholar. No biscuit!
Homosexuality and Civilization is worth reading even with the major problems I've noted. Conceptual sins aside, Dr. Crompton presents his survey of Europe and East Asia very well. Just bear in mind that he ignores large parts of the globe inhabited by brown and black people (who are not part of "civilization").
May 16, 2016
Finished at last! :-) I am very pleased to have read this book, but I can't deny some of it was tough going - and you will understand why when I say that the narrative ends with the last execution for homosexuality in Europe. Once we were past the Inquisition, though, things started slowly getting brighter, and it's terrific to read of individuals who successfully defied the social laws and mores of their day, and philosophers who managed to reason their way to more enlightened views.
I learned some things, including the notion that a homosexual identity isn't quite such a modern notion as is generally believed. There is good coverage of countries outside the usual UK / US focus, and good coverage of lesbians as well as their gay brethren. There is also useful analysis along the way of why this has all been so problematic, especially in Christian countries.
Crompton is a fine and lucid writer, and makes things as fun and interesting as he can (given the subject matter). There are plenty of illustrations, too, which adds to the interest. The book itself is nicely presented, and I particularly love the cover.
A Must Read for anyone interested in homosexuality and 'civilisation'. However, if you would like a somewhat lighter introduction to the author and the subject matter, I'd highly recommend his Byron and Greek Love.
I learned some things, including the notion that a homosexual identity isn't quite such a modern notion as is generally believed. There is good coverage of countries outside the usual UK / US focus, and good coverage of lesbians as well as their gay brethren. There is also useful analysis along the way of why this has all been so problematic, especially in Christian countries.
Crompton is a fine and lucid writer, and makes things as fun and interesting as he can (given the subject matter). There are plenty of illustrations, too, which adds to the interest. The book itself is nicely presented, and I particularly love the cover.
A Must Read for anyone interested in homosexuality and 'civilisation'. However, if you would like a somewhat lighter introduction to the author and the subject matter, I'd highly recommend his Byron and Greek Love.
January 7, 2012
This has been the most rigorously researched book that I’ve read since John Boswell’s “Same Sex Unions”. Not since Boswell have I seen such drive to analyze primary texts. Crompton’s chapter on the story of Sodom and its mistaken use throughout history is simply superb. The country by country and century by century analysis of societies and notable historical figures is without par and a delight to read for anyone. Crompton’s contrast of the Christian west to the more civilized nations of the east is not only commendable but gives one license to think of what the western tradition may have given us if it had not been poisoned by Christianity. Lastly, Crompton’s drive to go deeper than just a list of atrocities committed against the LGBT community across history allows the reader a rare glimpse at the nature of same-sex love that gives someone who is part of the LGBT community a sense of history that has never before been felt. This book is definitely a must read for any interested in the LGBT history and for any literary-inclined member of the LGBT community. The only fault that I can find in this book is the fact that it didn’t reach to modern times but ended in the Enlightenment.
June 22, 2022
very dense and detailed but super informative and meticulous, definitely not light reading
I didn't necessarily enjoy reading this but it did what it set out to do, it's a very good repository of knowledge and sources and a good jumping off point for research with lots of references to important primary sources
pretty eurocentric (which is semi-forgivable since the author is drawing from written works and records he can access directly or through translations) but there are good chapters on China and Japan
I didn't necessarily enjoy reading this but it did what it set out to do, it's a very good repository of knowledge and sources and a good jumping off point for research with lots of references to important primary sources
pretty eurocentric (which is semi-forgivable since the author is drawing from written works and records he can access directly or through translations) but there are good chapters on China and Japan
did-not-finish
March 28, 2018I'm giving up on this book. I was looking for a book that dealt with homosexuality throughout history, but this book seems to be a book that deals overwhelmingly with adult men who have sex with male children in history. I understand that it has historically been more accepted for adults to have sex with children (both male and female) than it is today, but my own personal history makes me particularly sensitive to not liking when this is equated with broader sexuality. For example, if there was a book that was dealing with marriage throughout the ages and it dealt overwhelmingly with men who married girls at 14 years old and divorced them at 20 years old, would we think this was a fair assessment of marriage as a whole? I know I wouldn't. So I'm not really down with looking at homosexuality from a perspective of cultures that viewed same sex relationships as something that happened when an older man started having sex with a boy at 14 and stopped having sex with him when he hit 20. That's something else.
Also, there seems to be something wrong with my book. It jumps from page 224 to 273.
Also, there seems to be something wrong with my book. It jumps from page 224 to 273.
June 30, 2019
This book has much to recommend it, but it is more of a compendium of a great of deal of research by many scholars - an attempt at an overview of the field - more than it is a history book with its own set of arguments and archives. In this way it is something a bit more akin to Ruth Mazzo Karras's Sexuality in Medieval Europe than it is to Boswell's Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality. Crompton is attempting to bring together work such as Guido Ruggiero's writing on Renaissance Venice, Kenneth Dover's writing on ancient Athens, Michael Rocke's work on Florence, and numerous other people's work.
Crompton's own interest is in legal history - where the preponderance of documented evidence about homosexual behaviors seems to be found. (Even the small sections on the Mayans, the Aztecs, the Inca, and the Chimú are focused on the ways they legislated same-sex sexual activity.) I would say that his secondary interest is in literature and memoirs. What this book is not is a social history. Crompton's focus is on the intersection of anti-sodomy legislation and those who found themselves subjected to those laws. Homosexuality and Civilization is, in many ways, designed to be a correction of Boswell – whose work downplays anti-sodomy persecution. Crompton is interested in documenting anti-sodomy hostility and persecution as a way to call European civilization, Christianity, and even the Enlightenment to account for the carnage and violence they wreaked.
Frequently Crompton does come to the question of whether or not a homosexual subculture might have existed in this or that oppressive locale – Florence, Venice, Paris, London – but his results here are often inconclusive or say nothing about how these folks who frequented particular sites for homosexual sex might have understood each other or what they were doing. And then because the book is such an enormous survey of activity, Crompton doesn't really have the space to interrogate these questions in any depth; he tends, simply, to move on to his next topic or location.
In short (even though the book is quite long) this is an accessible, moderately in-depth overview of the history of homosexual laws and literature in antiquity, the medieval period, pre-Meiji Japan, Imperial China, the European Renaissance, and the Enlightenment. Much of the world makes no appearance at all, and Crompton's chief focuses are, on the one hand, oppression and anti-sodomitical violence, and on the other, kings, queens, emperors, shoguns, generals, and other powerful people whose same-sex relationships are well documented.
Crompton's own interest is in legal history - where the preponderance of documented evidence about homosexual behaviors seems to be found. (Even the small sections on the Mayans, the Aztecs, the Inca, and the Chimú are focused on the ways they legislated same-sex sexual activity.) I would say that his secondary interest is in literature and memoirs. What this book is not is a social history. Crompton's focus is on the intersection of anti-sodomy legislation and those who found themselves subjected to those laws. Homosexuality and Civilization is, in many ways, designed to be a correction of Boswell – whose work downplays anti-sodomy persecution. Crompton is interested in documenting anti-sodomy hostility and persecution as a way to call European civilization, Christianity, and even the Enlightenment to account for the carnage and violence they wreaked.
Frequently Crompton does come to the question of whether or not a homosexual subculture might have existed in this or that oppressive locale – Florence, Venice, Paris, London – but his results here are often inconclusive or say nothing about how these folks who frequented particular sites for homosexual sex might have understood each other or what they were doing. And then because the book is such an enormous survey of activity, Crompton doesn't really have the space to interrogate these questions in any depth; he tends, simply, to move on to his next topic or location.
In short (even though the book is quite long) this is an accessible, moderately in-depth overview of the history of homosexual laws and literature in antiquity, the medieval period, pre-Meiji Japan, Imperial China, the European Renaissance, and the Enlightenment. Much of the world makes no appearance at all, and Crompton's chief focuses are, on the one hand, oppression and anti-sodomitical violence, and on the other, kings, queens, emperors, shoguns, generals, and other powerful people whose same-sex relationships are well documented.
January 13, 2018
Thoroughly researched and densely academic, this book forms a decent overview of homosexuality as a concept and practice in the West and parts of the East for the last 4000 years. As other reviewers have mentioned, its attention to the sapphic side of homosexuality is a bright spot, but the absence of South/Central American, African, and many American (read: non-white) narratives is a disappointment.
That oversight aside, this is still an excellent work that covers a significant chunk of history too often ignored in general.
That oversight aside, this is still an excellent work that covers a significant chunk of history too often ignored in general.
September 11, 2007
Well researched. The book covers 4,000 years of human activity. The lives and achievements (note achievements) of homosexuals through the centuries are chronicled. We are taken to the darker side of persecution and the bright spots in the history of gay men and women. I liked the writing style and the approach to an important subject -- to me.
January 3, 2019
Brilliant, detailed, exhaustive account of same sex attraction in Ancient Greece and Rome, Christian West, China and Japan t
This is perhaps the best work available, exhaustive in detail and thorough in scope, that examines the status and treatment of homosexuality in the classical and Christian worlds, in China across two millennia, and in Japan between the years 750-1868. The scholarship at times seems beyond belief; this is a monumental achievement, written with a commitment to objectivity even though the agenda, revealing the facts about homosexuality, is clear. The author touches on indigenous Americans and the United States but only tangentially, and does not examine India and nearby cultures. His account of Islam is restricted to Muslim Spain. But I am hard pressed to see how the author could have included these other cultures at the level of detail he maintains and still have a book that would not be too daunting. While he by no means let's Western religion, and especially Christianity, off the hook, my one criticism is about his concluding sentences in which he praises Christianity for its contributions to civilization and for evolving into a more inclusive religion. Using the evidence cited by the author in his own book, a strong argument can be made that Christianity has been an impediment to civilized culture; education would still have evolved without it, if only because of the needs of commerce, we would still have an artistic legacy as non-Christian societies do, and the sciences have shown us that humans have an innate moral sense. If anything, Christianity might have undermined the great moral insights of the Axial age with its needless prejudices and irrational fears; we might be hard pressed to name what new moral practices and insights any of the Abrahamic religions have contributed in the 2,500 years since the promulgation of the Golden Rule in the world's major cultures. Other than this quibble, Homosexuality and Civilization is a monumental contribution to intellectual history, the history of religion, the history of philosophy, and world history. It's an astonishing accomplishment; you will feel good about yourself having read it.
This is perhaps the best work available, exhaustive in detail and thorough in scope, that examines the status and treatment of homosexuality in the classical and Christian worlds, in China across two millennia, and in Japan between the years 750-1868. The scholarship at times seems beyond belief; this is a monumental achievement, written with a commitment to objectivity even though the agenda, revealing the facts about homosexuality, is clear. The author touches on indigenous Americans and the United States but only tangentially, and does not examine India and nearby cultures. His account of Islam is restricted to Muslim Spain. But I am hard pressed to see how the author could have included these other cultures at the level of detail he maintains and still have a book that would not be too daunting. While he by no means let's Western religion, and especially Christianity, off the hook, my one criticism is about his concluding sentences in which he praises Christianity for its contributions to civilization and for evolving into a more inclusive religion. Using the evidence cited by the author in his own book, a strong argument can be made that Christianity has been an impediment to civilized culture; education would still have evolved without it, if only because of the needs of commerce, we would still have an artistic legacy as non-Christian societies do, and the sciences have shown us that humans have an innate moral sense. If anything, Christianity might have undermined the great moral insights of the Axial age with its needless prejudices and irrational fears; we might be hard pressed to name what new moral practices and insights any of the Abrahamic religions have contributed in the 2,500 years since the promulgation of the Golden Rule in the world's major cultures. Other than this quibble, Homosexuality and Civilization is a monumental contribution to intellectual history, the history of religion, the history of philosophy, and world history. It's an astonishing accomplishment; you will feel good about yourself having read it.
September 2, 2025
Louis Crompton’s Homosexuality and Civilization is a sweeping historical study that dismantles the myth of sexual orientation as a modern “invention.” Crompton meticulously traces same-sex desire across cultures, from ancient Greece and China to medieval Europe, revealing that fluidity in attraction has been an enduring aspect of human nature. This challenges the simplistic black-and-white view of sexuality, reminding us that what some today dismiss as “woke ideology” is in fact the re-emergence of realities that have always existed.
Crompton also shows that today’s cultural backlash is hardly unprecedented. History is replete with reactionary forces seeking to enforce rigid norms, most brutally during the Inquisition, when men were tortured or executed for same-sex relations. Such episodes underscore that intolerance is not tradition but rather a recurring cycle of fear and control.
In a time when debates over gender and sexuality dominate headlines, Crompton’s work provides essential context: what we call “progress” is simply a return to an old truth - that human identity is complex, diverse, and irreducible to binaries.
Crompton also shows that today’s cultural backlash is hardly unprecedented. History is replete with reactionary forces seeking to enforce rigid norms, most brutally during the Inquisition, when men were tortured or executed for same-sex relations. Such episodes underscore that intolerance is not tradition but rather a recurring cycle of fear and control.
In a time when debates over gender and sexuality dominate headlines, Crompton’s work provides essential context: what we call “progress” is simply a return to an old truth - that human identity is complex, diverse, and irreducible to binaries.
March 28, 2019
Stop.
Before you let them talk at you.
Before they blame you for hurricanes and tornadoes and the fall of Rome. Before they call you fringe, and subversive, and outcast.
And begin to understand that Homosexuals play a disproportionate role in the development of society... and one step further... civilization.
This book should be required reading during or just after your coming out process. You have to understand that we are not alien to society, but an integral, even crucial part of it.
People of faith can come at you with very confident statements about how 'weird' you are - when they speak from a point of view that was in the very first place enabled by people who are just like you.
Don't let them get away with spewing their ignorance.
Take your place in society. Learn the facts. And this book will blow your mind.
Before you let them talk at you.
Before they blame you for hurricanes and tornadoes and the fall of Rome. Before they call you fringe, and subversive, and outcast.
And begin to understand that Homosexuals play a disproportionate role in the development of society... and one step further... civilization.
This book should be required reading during or just after your coming out process. You have to understand that we are not alien to society, but an integral, even crucial part of it.
People of faith can come at you with very confident statements about how 'weird' you are - when they speak from a point of view that was in the very first place enabled by people who are just like you.
Don't let them get away with spewing their ignorance.
Take your place in society. Learn the facts. And this book will blow your mind.
July 5, 2020
From ancient Greece and Japan to more modern Europe, it's filled with fascinating - and all too often horrifying - information they definitely don't teach you in school. Although it is sad to read of literally thousands of years of persecution, there are also many interesting parts where you learn it wasn't always that way everywhere.
August 30, 2020
A very thorough exploration of homosexual desire until the 19th century. I feel that it makes valuable points against some "homosexuality did not exist until it was invented in 1892" constructionist arguments. It, however, idealizes ancient social concept of same-sex relations, not reflecting on its power imbalance aspect, perhaps in reaction to those who overly demonize it.
July 25, 2018
What a fantastic journey this book was!!!
Every single gay or straight should read it. It got all the historic elements for people who love it as well as the fascinating history of gay people. Highly recommend!!!!
Every single gay or straight should read it. It got all the historic elements for people who love it as well as the fascinating history of gay people. Highly recommend!!!!
October 1, 2018
From ancient Greece and Rome through to the Enlightenment, Crompton traces gay history through a myriad of civilizations, across continents and millenia. A fascinating study accompanied by a wealth of illustrations.
September 21, 2019
El autor investigó minuciosamente la historia de diversas civilizaciones para analizar la homosexualidad en cada una de ellas. Es un trabajo significativo que, sin embargo, no es pesada ni contiene un texto extremadamente "pesado" al leer. Sus ilustraciones son excelentes.
January 3, 2023
I suspected for some time, but it really is fascinating to see all the evidence as to who is in fact responsible for homophobia. There is really no record of it, anywhere in history, except where they deliberately introduced it.
October 9, 2017
Read 99 pages. Dropped the book because of its verbose narrative.
October 8, 2019
very thorough and detailed. i enjoyed it quite a bit.
December 3, 2015
Although there is still more research that needs to be done, Louis Crompton has done a brilliant job of taking what records there are from ancient Greece and Rome all the way to the 1800s when executions for the so-called crime of sodomy were effectively ended, and putting them in one book for the layman. It's a remarkable contrast how civilizations such as ancient Greece and Rome, as well as China and Japan - civilizations that came before the spread of Christianity or were so isolated until late into the modern age as to be unaffected by Christianity - developed their views on homosexuality as compared to the "Christendom" of Europe. Although Christianity's message of the Gospels at their core is a message of love of God and of humanity, there's no denying that people have used the Judaic law as well as Paul's message to the Romans to do horrible harm to "sodomites". I would highly recommend this to anyone who wants to study the history of homosexuals and homosexuality in civilizations. It's a valuable resource and I can only hope more research is done to fill in the gaps, and also that more historians will be willing to look at the historical figures such as William III of England and Frederick the Great of Prussia and be frank about the fact they were homosexuals. The fact of the matter is it's no shame to be attracted to members of the same sex. It shouldn't be. Not anymore. More books like this please.
March 2, 2008
This book is an overview of homosexuality over various time periods and cultures, and its connections with other social trends. It's well written and well organized and fairly comprehensive, especially with respect to European history. However, it is very Eurocentric, devoting only one chapter to Asia and almost no space to Africa or the Americas. And the author is a firm proponent of essentialism, seeking mainly to find evidence in history that homosexuals have always been a distinct class of individuals recognized by society. This flies in the face of much other scholarship on the subject, but I'm frankly not well enough educated to critique the author's views, or how they may have colored the book in more subtle ways. I enjoyed the book, though, and I would recommend it to anyone interested in the subject, and to any LGBT individuals seeking to find a connection with history.
May 30, 2016
A must have for anyone interested in homosexuality. As someone who has read a number of books on the Biblical attitude towards same sex love and also Dover's book on Greek Homosexuality, this book tells the big picture. Though Crompton takes a pro-gay stance, he treats the sources judiciously. I don't think he gives Jesus' Jewish teaching on marriage enough credence, but that is forgivable considering the scope of the work.
June 12, 2015
Very enlightening !!
For example King James I (i.e. King James Bible) was a flaming homo!!!
Ahhh, the joys of Christianity and what it has done to our civilization over the course of 2000 years. No offense intended to any of my Christian friends, but so much bigotry, hatred and malice - all in the name of God! Really, I don't think that was what was intended.
For example King James I (i.e. King James Bible) was a flaming homo!!!
Ahhh, the joys of Christianity and what it has done to our civilization over the course of 2000 years. No offense intended to any of my Christian friends, but so much bigotry, hatred and malice - all in the name of God! Really, I don't think that was what was intended.
July 3, 2008
an amazingly well researched exploration of "Homosexuality" and Civilization. I recommend this book to every single person who has ever had just a fleeting interest in sexuality and/or gender studies.
August 31, 2015
An excellent survey of the homosexual throughout (mostly Western) history. Though it requires a focused read, this compendium rewards the dutiful with a treasure trove of anecdotes that helps place our current struggles for equality on the timeline of human oppression.
February 28, 2015
It is quite an interesting book, helpful for those interested in knowing more about the homosexual's genesis. However, based on some misleading accounts I am not sure if one can rely on it as a secure historical data.
November 18, 2015
Great historical overview with critical analysis on homosexual relationships and the political/social/religious persecution of it. Very much based on European history with few chapters also focusing on China and Japan; would have liked to see more cultures represented.
August 18, 2010
Amazing.
January 7, 2015
The most exhaustive history out, and I think excellent.
If you're upset by hideous tortures, beware: the tale gets bloody in Inquisition times.
If you're upset by hideous tortures, beware: the tale gets bloody in Inquisition times.
March 6, 2013
I enjoyed reading this book and I will probably read it again. I like the way it is laid out and the verbiage that was used.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews