Synopses & Reviews
Don't Ask, Don't Tell was the directive of President Clinton's 1993 military policy regarding gay and lesbian soldiers. This volume recovers the lost voices of those who served in silence, offering a rich chronicle of the history of gay and lesbian service in the U.S. military from World War II to the Iraq War. Drawing on more than 50 interviews with gay and lesbian veterans, Estes charts the evolution of policy toward homosexuals in the military over the past 65 years, uncovering the ways that silence about sexuality and military service has affected the identities of gay veterans. Far from undermining national security, unit cohesion, or troop morale, Estes demonstrates, these veterans strengthened the U.S. military in times of war and peace. He also examines challenges to the ban on homosexual service, placing them in the context of the wider movement for gay rights and gay liberation.
Review
This is a remarkable oral history collection.
Leisa D. Meyer, The College of William and Mary
Review
"[A] compelling book."
Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare
Review
This is an outstanding book that will be of great interest and pleasure to a wide range of readers.
Aaron Belkin, University of California, Santa Barbara
Review
"An indispensable document."
Women: A Cultural Review
Review
"This essential oral history collection tells the stories we were never meant to hear and ultimately calls for an end to one of America's bastions of homophobia."
Curve
Review
These oral histories are eloquent, poignant, harrowing, inspiring, and more.
John D'Emilio, coauthor of Intimate Matters: A History of Sexuality in America
Review
Ask and Tell offers the most comprehensive stories to date and provides a forum for veterans to discuss the legacy of the military's infamous 'don't ask, don't tell' policy."
Publishers Weekly
Synopsis
Don't Ask, Don't Tell was the directive of President Clinton's 1993 military policy regarding gay and lesbian soldiers. This official silence continued a collective amnesia about the patriotic service and courageous sacrifices of homosexual troops.
Ask and Tell recovers these lost voices, offering a rich chronicle of the history of gay and lesbian service in the U.S. military from World War II to the Iraq War.
Drawing on more than 50 interviews with gay and lesbian veterans, Steve Estes charts the evolution of policy toward homosexuals in the military over the past 65 years, uncovering the ways that silence about sexuality and military service has affected the identities of gay veterans. These veteran voices--harrowing, heroic, and on the record--reveal the extraordinary stories of ordinary Americans, men and women who simply did their duty and served their country in the face of homophobia, prejudice, and enemy fire. Far from undermining national security, unit cohesion, or troop morale, Estes demonstrates, these veterans strengthened the U.S. military in times of war and peace. He also examines challenges to the ban on homosexual service, placing them in the context of the wider movement for gay rights and gay liberation.
Ask and Tell is an important compilation of unheard voices, offering Americans a new understanding of the value of
all the men and women who serve and protect them.
The official silence mandated by the 1993 Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy continued a collective amnesia about the patriotic service and courageous sacrifices of homosexual troops.
Ask and Tell recovers these lost voices, offering a rich chronicle of the history of gay and lesbian service in the U.S. military from World War II to the Iraq War.
Drawing on more than 50 interviews with gay and lesbian veterans, Steve Estes charts the evolution of policy toward homosexuals in the military over the past 65 years, uncovering the ways that silence about sexuality and military service has affected the identities of gay veterans. These veteran voices--harrowing, heroic, and on the record--reveal the extraordinary stories of ordinary Americans, men and women who simply did their duty and served their country in the face of homophobia, prejudice, and enemy fire.
About the Author
Steve Estes is associate professor of history at Sonoma State University. He is author of I AM a Man!: Race, Manhood, and the Civil Rights Movement (from the University of North Carolina Press).