From the Publisher
"Faderman’s exploration of Milk’s dual outsider status as gay and Jewish is equal parts warm and scholarly."—Karen Iris Tucker, Washington Post“Thanks to Lillian Faderman we know also know about Harvey the secular Jew, who renounced his faith but remained influenced and inspired by liberal Jewish values.”—Peter Tatchell, Spectator“Faderman’s narrative mixes the personal and the political with great skill; subtly displaying how at a fundamental level, fighting for collective political rights is really just a human yearning for personal happiness, which usually has its roots in compassion.”—JP O’Malley, Irish Sunday Independent"A brilliant rumination on the revolutionary political journey of Harvey Milk."—The Nation (Most Valuable Biography, The Nation's Progressive Honor Roll 2018)"Faderman does a fantastic job at reanimating a story that reminds us that people can be truly tolerant—with the exception of the few—and that, with will (not money), anyone can effect change. Harvey Milk as seen through fresh, highly knowledgeable eyes."—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)"A stirring account. . . . A multifaceted portrait of a complicated man."—John McMurtrie, San Francisco Chronicle"This elegantly written and well-researched book recovers the Jewishness that has too often been erased or glossed over in the mythologizing of a gay icon."—Helene Meyers, TabletSelected for Book Riot’s “Curated Queer TBR for Spring 2022”“Lillian Faderman has particularly interesting things to say about three themes: Milk’s Jewish background, his populist politics, and his death.”—Alan David, Jewish Chronicle"The theme that comes through most prominently is Milk's unflinching courage and forward thinking resolution. I found myself frequently writing in the margin of my copy: 'So ahead of his time.'"—Peter Marino, Gay and Lesbian Review“A hopeful, moving, and uplifting read.“—Times of IsraelHarvey Milk by Lillian Faderman was chosen to be included on the 2019 Over the Rainbow Recommended Book ListFinalist in the 2018 National Jewish Book Award, biography category
Selected as one of the Top Ten Titles for the 2018 Over the Rainbow Booklist, sponsored by the GLBT Round Table of the American Library Association
Finalist in the 2019 Lammys Awards, Gay Memoir/Biography categoryFinalist for the 2019 Randy Shilts Award for Gay Nonfiction, sponsored by the Publishing Triangle“Meticulously researched and beautifully written, Lillian Faderman’s Harvey Milk is a revelation. This insightful work provides context to Milk’s life as a gay icon and illuminates how his experience was deeply informed by his own Jewish identity.”—Cleve Jones, author of When We Rise: My Life in the Movement
Cleve Jones
Meticulously researched and beautifully written, Lillian Faderman’s Harvey Milk is a revelation. This insightful work provides context to Milk’s life as a gay icon and illuminates how his experience was deeply informed by his own Jewish identity.”—Cleve Jones, author of When We Rise: My Life in the Movement
Kenji Yoshino
Faderman has a gloriously fanatical commitment to illuminating and commemorating her subjects. . . . Any revolutionary would be lucky to stand in a light so steady, so searching, and so sure.”—Kenji Yoshino, New York Times Book Review, on The Gay Revolution
Library Journal
05/01/2018
Faderman (The Gay Revolution: The Story of the Struggle) profiles Harvey Milk (1930–78), the first openly gay supervisor of San Francisco, whose life was cut short when he was assassinated by a fellow elected official. This biography opens by describing Milk's grandfather's journey from Lithuania to the United States, then pivots to the politician's upbringing and relationship to his family. Faderman pays special attention to Milk's Jewish identity and argues that his devotion to the Jewish principle of repairing the world influenced his championing of marginalized communities, even though he was not an observant Jew himself. Fearing that his sexuality would not be accepted in 1950s Long Island, Milk drifted among jobs and became involved in New York's theatre scene. After moving to San Francisco, he found his true calling as an advocate for the gay community in his district. Faderman explores Milk's failed campaigns, personal relationships, and political challenges as he navigated the San Francisco political arena. His ambitious and driven nature shines throughout and Faderman does not gloss over his subject's faults. The volume ends with an analysis of Milk's legacy. VERDICT A thoughtful, nuanced portrait of a passionate and complicated man. Highly recommended for those interested in LGBTQIA history.—Rebekah Kati, Univ. of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
JULY 2018 - AudioFile
Historian Lillian Faderman's biography of San Francisco's first out and proud gay elected official follows Milk from his ancestry through his assassination. The biography offers well-crafted stories, documentary snippets from letters and news accounts, and contextual explanations of changing culture that are woven seamlessly into the whole. Narrator Joel Froomkin does a stellar job channeling Milk’s many moods and tones. From oratory to reflective self-examination, Froomkin captures Milk's capacity to overreach with some attempts at wit and to communicate sincere support of all marginalized people in his adopted city. In spite of some mispronunciations, the high quality of the writing and Froomkin's overall presentation offer revelatory listening. F.M.R.G. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
★ 2018-03-20
A new biography of the controversial and groundbreaking Harvey Milk (1930-1978).In this latest installment of the publisher's Jewish Lives series, LGBT historian Faderman (The Gay Revolution: The Story of the Struggle, 2015, etc.) focuses on one of the most revolutionary West Coast gay politicians of the 20th century. Born to a Jewish family, Milk struggled to find his place in the society that surrounded him, regardless of where he lived and went to school. As the author writes, "Harvey was steeped in Jewishness as a child….But his heart was not in it. He later claimed that he rejected religion because when he was twelve years old he ‘found out that religion was phony or hypocritical.' " Milk's ability to see things as they were—to see through the protective membranes of societal and cultural preconceptions—is what set him apart as a deeply insightful politician. He clearly identified the major issues in his community and addressed them head-on. Faderman deftly navigates us through Milk's incredible journey, from his days exploring the Navy's gay haven to his experience in the early 1970s in New York scrapping pennies to pay the rent on his Greenwich Village apartment to his arrival to California, where he quickly became a staple in the Castro District, the notoriously gay neighborhood in San Francisco. The author naturally devotes much of the text to Milk's political accomplishments, including his work against the discriminatory Proposition 6, voter registration drives, and, above all, being the first openly gay man elected as city supervisor. Though Milk's story is well-known, Faderman does a fantastic job at reanimating a story that reminds us that people can be truly tolerant—with the exception of the few—and that, with will (not money), anyone can effect change.Harvey Milk as seen through fresh, highly knowledgeable eyes.
