The Mayor Of Castro Street: The Life And Times Of Harvey Milk (1982) - Plot & Excerpts
Previously having read And The Band Played On, I knew I would enjoy this book before I read it. Since Shilts was a journalist and an author, his narration is gripping. For many years, I have attempted to understand the experiences of my gay brothers and sisters so I can be a better ally. And books like these are a good way to begin. I had seen Milk, but I liked learning more about him as a person, as opposed to the skin-deep version we got in the movie. If you have any interest in GLBT Studies, The Mayor of Castro Street definitely needs to be on your must-read list. This is a powerfully evocative (although perhaps a bit overly long) biography of an important figure in twentieth century American politics and culture. While Harvey Milk may now be most famous as the subject of a film by Gus Van Sant, this is the book that powered Van Sant's film, and is well worth reading for anyone who was captivated by the cinematic rendition of the same material. Randy Shilts was an excellent writer, and keeps his narrative pace up pretty well as he covers a broad span of people and events. My only real complaint about the book is that it would have benefited from a list of dramatis personae, since there are indeed a large number of people that move in and out of these dense pages, and it's not always easy keeping track of them all. But that's a minor complaint in the grand scheme of Shilts' sweeping and essential history.
What do You think about The Mayor Of Castro Street: The Life And Times Of Harvey Milk (1982)?
Powerful story - thanks to Professor Roberta Atwell for introducing me to Harvey Milk back in 1993.
—Abbygirl34
A must read for anyone who's ever heard the name Harvey Milk.
—PAILIAN
