The Martin Duberman Reader

February 11, 2013
For the past 50 years, prize-winning historian Duberman has forcefully and eloquently moved us to consider the legacy of engaged social activism through his plays; biographies of Paul Robeson, Lincoln Kirstein, and Howard Zinn; and his political and autobiographical writings. The writings—all previously published—collected in this thoughtful anthology range from his earliest reflections on “black power and the American radical tradition,” and the Stonewall riots, to thoughts on “pleasuring the body and gay male culture” and excerpts from his memoirs, Cures and Midlife Queer. In an essay on Donald Webster Cory’s book, The Homosexual in America, for example, Duberman marvels that 60 years after first publication, the heart of Cory’s thesis that “hard and fast categories such as homosexual, heterosexual, and bisexual” are central to queer theory. In his typically energetic and colorful prose, Duberman describes Cory: “The themes of contingency, change, and fluidity being sounded in 1951 by a frail, gnome-like perfume salesman, trapped in a quixotic body, pulled in the deeper recesses of his being between anarchic Dionysian desires and the ordered virtues of Apollonian civics....” This collection not only serves as a wonderful introduction to Duberman’s writing but is also a fitting tribute to a man who has devoted his life to promoting social change.

Starred review from March 1, 2013
Selections from the prolific writings of the prize-winning author and dramatist. Born in 1930, Duberman (History Emeritus/CUNY Graduate School; Howard Zinn: A Life on the Left, 2012, etc.) has been a participant in, and witness to, many of the significant historical events of the last 50 years. As the founder of the Center for Gay and Lesbian Studies at CUNY and a participant in the development of the movement for gay rights, Duberman's account of the Stonewall riots of 1969 is exemplary of his overall approach, a mix of the historical and the personal. Under the rubric of social and economic justice, he writes about the relationship between individuals and society, along with the struggle for political and personal/sexual freedoms. He discusses the antebellum abolitionist movement and provides thumbnail biographies that frame the question of "normal" vs. "neurotic." Duberman works these themes into his treatment of the civil rights, black nationalist and gay rights movements. The author does not offer broad generalizations, but particular exemplification: the career of Paul Robeson and his struggle against racism, Howard Zinn's involvement with the 1950s civil rights movement in Atlanta, and the actions of the Student National Coordinating Committee, the Gay Academic Union and the National Gay Task Force. He also examines the tragedy of AIDS and the issue of racism in the gay male community, and he offers incendiary thoughts on the death of Ronald Reagan, lionized by most but disdained by the author for his refusal to assist in AIDS research ("Reagan wouldn't lift a finger to foster research or to combat the mounting epidemic in any way. Mr. Compassion couldn't even say the AIDS word") or provide any protection of the civil liberties of minorities. A provocative collection that is thoughtful in both scope and attention to detail.

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April 15, 2013

Duberman (distinguished professor emeritus, history, CUNY Graduate Sch.; Stonewall) compiles excerpts and complete shorter pieces from many of his most thoughtful and thought-provoking writings, arranging them into four major divisions: "History," "Biography," "Memoir," and "Politics and Activism." In this volume covering over half a century of writing, Duberman addresses such wide-ranging topics as slavery in America, radicalism, gay rights, sexual identity, feminism, bioenergetics, the death of Ronald Reagan, and the complex history of the United States and Cuba, with biographies of notable social activists and luminaries within the same arc of subjects. The pieces are as entertaining as they are informative. Duberman has the rare gift of being able to condense a complexity of sources into a readable narrative. Stripped of the editorial apparatus some of them had in their original publication, the pieces make a great introduction to Duberman's larger universe of writings, while some readers will choose to seek out the original publications for the notes and references. VERDICT This collection demonstrates Duberman's diverse interests and understanding of social struggle, American society, and the people and organizations that have influenced and changed it. Recommended for political and social science students, LGBT advocates, and general readers of literary nonfiction.--Mark Manivong, Library of Congress

Copyright 2013 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2013
Duberman is a giant, too little known. Distinguished professor emeritus of history at the CUNY Graduate School, he was the founder and first director of the first Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies (at CUNY). Author of more than 20 books, he is a recipient of the Bancroft Prize, a finalist for the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize, and biographer of Howard Zinn, Paul Robeson, and Lincoln Kirsten. He is a committed leftist who has never hesitated to criticize the mainstream gay and lesbian organizations with which his work and life have been intimately associated. This collection provides a useful contrast to popular columnist Dan Savage, the sort of writer who could not exist without Duberman. Selections include examples of the many types of writing Duberman is known for, except for his plays. From The Northern Response to Slavery to Cuba to Pleasuring the Body: Reflections on Gay Male Culture, Duberman's writing is forceful and nuanced. And this is a valuable and most welcome volume.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)