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Not So Good a Gay Man

A Memoir

Frank M. Robinson

Tor Books

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ISBN10: 0765382091
ISBN13: 9780765382092

Hardcover

320 Pages

$34.99

CA$47.50

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Frank M. Robinson (1926-2014) accomplished a great deal in his long life, working in magazine publishing, including a stint for Playboy, and writing science fiction such as The Power, The Dark Beyond the Stars, and thrillers such as The Glass Inferno (filmed as The Towering Inferno). Robinson also passionately engaged in politics, fighting for gay rights, and most famously writing speeches for his good friend Harvey Milk in San Francisco.

This deeply personal autobiography, addressed to a friend in the gay community, explains the life of one gay man over eight decades in America. By turns witty, charming, and poignant, this memoir grants insights into Robinson's work not just as a journalist and writer, but as a gay man navigating the often perilous social landscape of 20th century life in the United States. The bedrock sincerity and painful honesty with which he describes this life makes Not So Good a Gay Man compelling reading.

Reviews

Praise for Not So Good a Gay Man

"Vivid and detailed, Robinson's story is an engaging recollection of the golden age of pulp fiction interwoven with the story of a man's successful struggle to accept himself. Fascinating reading, especially for fans of 20th-century science fiction."—Kirkus Reviews

"[Robinson's] closely observed view of gay life and culture, especially in his home city of San Francisco, is insightful and often moving."Booklist

Reviews from Goodreads

BOOK EXCERPTS

Read an Excerpt

I


BOB:

This is going to be a very long letter. I wanted to write it so you would know what it was really like to be a gay man before and after Stonewall and today, when same-sex marriage had become the law in California...

About the author

Frank M. Robinson

FRANK M. ROBINSON (1926-2014) was a journalist and writer best known for his techno-thrillers and his work as a speech writer for Harvey Milk. He was the author of The Power and Waiting, as well as The Glass Inferno, the basis for the film The Towering Inferno. He was inducted into the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame in 2009. He died in June 2014.

New York Times Obituary