The new book by Faderman and Timmons fills a major lacuna. For some years we have had the benefit of monographs on the gay and lesbian history of such major American cities as Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and San Francisco. Los Angeles, in some ways the most important city of all in this respect, has been missing. All in all, the new book was well worth waiting for. Clearly written and well-documented with footnotes, it presents a historical account from the pre-Hispanic berdache, through the early decades of Anglo LA, the movie colony, the rise of the gay movement, the development of gay institutions, and on down to a brief look at the present. A particular strength is the material on women, which must be credited to the diligence and resourcefulness of the senior author, a distinguished scholar in the field of lesbian studies.

Quite properly, the authors reject the stereotypes that Easterners (still!) cherish about Los Angeles. It is only fair that they should do a little boasting of their own. The city has its own particular aura, its genius loci. It is in this connection, though, that I detect the one flaw in the book. The authors give an account of the rise of the first substantial American gay movement in the years 1947-51, with the work of Harry Hay, Edith Eyde, Dorr Legg and others. However, they do not offer a convincing explanation of why this event, which has been of epochal and enduring significance to American gays and lesbians, should arise in that particular American city. A half century ago, other cities, with older traditions and more substantial populations, might have been expected to make the great leap forward. Instead it was done in Los Angeles. Why?