Product Description
Winner of the Herbert Feis Award from the American Historical Association and named one of the best religion books of the year by Publishers Weekly, D. Michael Quinn’s Same-Sex Dynamics among Nineteenth-Century Americans… More >>
Same-Sex Dynamics among Nineteenth-Century Americans: A MORMON EXAMPLE
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Quinn takes parsing to a new level–an obvious malcontent. Anyone who could believe that Mormons have some secret “homoerotic” history needs serious therapy. I can’t stop laughing. I gave it a two because there weren’t serious grammar problems. Must have had a good (albeit tolerant) editor.
Rating: 1 / 5
The book is well researched and the writing for once isn’t tedious, (good job Dr. Quinn). However, Quinn really strains it at times to prove his ideas. This is Quinn’s hidden agenda: The Mormon church during the 19th century was not as homophopic as it is now, therefore the Mormon church should not be so severe in its attacks and excommunications of Gay members of the church like myself. Quinn’s whole purpose in writing this book is to try to say that the current LDS leaders are hypocrites because earlier leaders had more lenient attidutes towards homosexuality. The book is a good history of same-sex relations but the reader needs to be aware of the hidden agenda and the bias in Quinn’s historical research and writing.
Rating: 3 / 5
Very good book. A must read for anyone who is interested in the history of same sex dynamics in American or Mormon history. Everything in the book is well documented. Its amazing to see how the church and its members attitudes towards homosexuality has changed over the years.
Rating: 5 / 5
Excellent scolarship and abundant reference material make this book a must for anybody interested in the subject. May be the author sees “too much” in a few things but that cannot hurt in a church that denies the obvious presence of homosexuals in its midst. It shows how the perceived perversions were not such in the past and how they are a product of recent fears and denials.
Rating: 4 / 5
Best scholarship I have read in a long, long time. It is not often I can say a book actually made me see myself and my beliefs differently. As a believing Mormon I find Quinn’s research into the “many silences of Mormon history” not only enlightening, but, contary to the Church’s fears, inspiring. Bravo, Michael. ~Gail Richards Dedrick
Rating: 5 / 5