The groundbreaking work on being homosexual in America-available again only from Penguin Classics and with a new foreword by Dan Savage
Originally published in 1971, Merle Miller's On Being Different is a pioneering and thought-provoking book about being homosexual in the United States. Just two years after the Stonewall riots, Miller wrote a poignant essay for the New York Times Magazine entitled "What It Means To Be a Homosexual" in response to a homophobic article published in Harper's Magazine. Described as "the most widely read and discussed essay of the decade," it carried the seed that would blossom into On Being Different-one of the earliest memoirs to affirm the importance of coming out.
For more than sixty-five years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,500 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
Child prodigy Joshua Bland's life has been anything but bland. Joshua's father abandons him and his mentally imbalanced mother when he is a young boy, leaving him to be raised by a cynical, hostile, and self-doubting stepfather. When Joshua loses a national knowledge competition, his family's reaction puts him on the path to becoming a World War II veteran, bestselling author, successful producer, and absentee father. A Gay and Melancholy Sound is a stark, witty portrait of a man who has had a lifetime of extraordinary experiences, yet no emotional connection to any of it. Book Lust Rediscoveries is a series devoted to reprinting some of the best (and now out of print) novels originally published from 1960-2000. Each book is personally selected by NPR Commentator and Book Lust author Nancy Pearl and includes an introduction by her, as well as discussion questions for book groups and a list of recommended further reading.