Lesbian and Gay Richmond (Images of America: Virginia)

Who would have thought that there was so much LGBTQ history in Richmond, Virginia? Great photos are the basis of this amazing history book. It's not so surprising to see that LGBTQ activism was happening in Richmond at the same time as the rest of the country--beginning after the 1969 Stonewall revolt in NYC. What is surprising is the wealth of LGBTQ history in the area going back to colonial days. Of course, we have always been everywhere, but it is good to see some evidence! Perfect coffee table book you can go back to again and again. Highly recommended.

A GREAT read on LGBT history in Richmond, VA. Fascinating how LGBTQ Virginians maneuvered through the confines of society to connect, thrive and make substantial contributions to Richmond's community development and cultural growth. I appreciate Marschak's own involvement and perspective, making her the ideal author and collector of so many great stories. After you read the book, don't miss a great opportunity to get an RVA LGBT History Tour this September. [...]

This is a great early book on the LGBTQ history of Richmond, Virginia. It is also a fun way to discover Richmond history in general.

book was damaged more than I wanted,But a good read.

Fascinating image-based overview of Richmond area LGBT history. Starts with Jamestown and continues to the present. Excellent research has turned up a number of well known Richmonders as well as many other interesting folks who are now revealed for us. Introduction does a good job of explaining the authors' approach. The pictures and images are compelling. Builds a good foundation for future researchers. Well worth reading for anyone interested in Richmond area history or LGBT history.

This is important material, but I am afraid it has been mishandled by the authors. Admittedly the format of what is only a picture book doesn't lend itself to real academic research. Still, there could have been less guesswork and innuendo and rumor put down here as actual history. You have the impression that the authors decided to go with the most "juicy" material they could find and bent that to fit their purposes. I hope somebody will eventually compile this history. It is a shame one of the first efforts on this interesting and important facet of Richmond's story was not only in this rather disposable format and handled by what I can only assume were amateur authors.Update: further evidence has come out that makes it obvious that the authors have seized on every hint, rumor, innuendo, and half-truth and blown it up or bent it to their subject and agenda. The other reviewers here are impressed by the sheer fact there is a book on this subject, but this is bad history and it doesn't stand as history should be presented or written.The great shame of this book is that, since it is (so far) the only book on this subject, its half-truths, bent conclusions, rumors as fact, and outright deceptions will be accepted as fact. An uncaring public, unwilling to check the facts, will believe this must be gospel, because it has been published. The "authors," if they can be called that, have done their subject and their readers a great disservice by perpetuating the half-baked accounts they have massaged to make them fit their subject.Richmond as a city and a culture deserves far better. Hopefully this pair won't put pen to paper again and muddy somebody else's history, disregarding facts, copying and pasting from other sources so they have sufficient copy to cobble together a book like this.