The Deviant's War

The Homosexual vs. the United States of America

By: Eric Cervini

Narrated by: Vikas Adam

2021 Triangle Awards - Nominee
2021 Pulitzer Prize - Finalist
2020 Triangle Awards - Winner

"Vikas Adam draws the listener in, expertly narrating Cervini's work, which charts the beginning of the gay rights movement in the United States...Vikas Adam does an excellent job lending unique voices to real historical figures." (AudioFile Magazine)

A Publishers Weekly most anticipated spring book

From a young Harvard and Cambridge-trained historian, the secret history of the fight for gay rights that began a generation before Stonewall

In 1957, Frank Kameny, a rising astronomer working for the US Defense Department in Hawaii, received a summons to report immediately to Washington, D.C. The Pentagon had reason to believe he was a homosexual, and after a series of humiliating interviews, Kameny, like countless gay men and women before him, was promptly dismissed from his government job. Unlike many others, though, Kameny fought back.

Based on firsthand accounts, recently declassified FBI records, and 40,000 personal documents, Eric Cervini's The Deviant's War unfolds over the course of the 1960s, as the Mattachine Society of Washington, the group Kameny founded, became the first organization to protest the systematic persecution of gay federal employees. It traces the forgotten ties that bound gay rights to the Black Freedom Movement, the New Left, lesbian activism, and trans resistance. Above all, it is a story of America (and Washington) at a cultural and sexual crossroads; of shocking, byzantine public battles with Congress; of FBI informants; murder; betrayal; sex; love; and ultimately victory.

A Macmillan Audio production from Farrar, Straus and Giroux

©2020 Eric Cervini (P)2020 Macmillan Audio

Absolutely Perfect.

Loved it. It was informative, and inspirational. A story of Pride before we knew what it was.

Required reading

This was an exceptional accounting of an important history too long left untold. Cervini's book should be required reading for everyone in this country and beyond.

An Important Read for All LGBT+

An important read to learn more about our history. Although, it is a very white, male perspective. Still a lot of amazing information, though

History I never knew.

This book was a history that I have never heard. The story was very interesting and flowed well. I would recommend this book for anyone wanting to learn more about the movement.

Nicely done

This book is nicely done, both as an inspiring story and as a reading performance. It is one of those books that are so good that they don't seem to be 15 hours long.