Status
Available
Call number
Publication
Alyson Books (2009), Edition: 1, 240 pages
Description
Following the brutal 1954 murders of two children in Sioux City, Iowa, police attempted to quell public hysteria by arresting 20 men whom the authorities never claimed had anything to do with the crimes. Labelled as sexual psychopaths these gay men were sentenced to a mental institution until 'cured'. Shedding a harsh light on 1950s attitudes toward homosexuality, this carefully researched account of this horrendous event shows how the paranoia of the McCarthy era destroyed the lives of gay men and exposes a dark chapter in the history of post-war America.
User reviews
LibraryThing member KelMunger
Accessible, detailed and frightening. Miller shows how, in the late 1950s, northwest Iowa reacted to a child murder by rounding up "the usual suspects": local gay men, often entrapped by police. These men were slandered, libeled and locked up in the state mental hospitals--though none were ever
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convicted of involvement in the murder. Show Less
Awards
Lambda Literary Award (Winner — 2002)
Publishing Triangle Awards (Finalist — Randy Shilts Award for Gay Nonfiction — 2003)
Stonewall Book Award (Honor Book — Non-Fiction — 2003)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2002
Physical description
240 p.; 5.3 inches
ISBN
1555836593 / 9781555836597
Other editions
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