Synopses & Reviews
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Table of Contents. Read the
Introduction.
"Academic studies are often pedantic and dense. This is not the case with this study...Krahulik combines traditional research methods and oral histories to record and interpret this journey in a respectful, scholarly manner."
Choice, Highly Recommended
"A fascinating study of a fascinating town; a charming piece of social history that is as readable as it is scholarly."
TWNInsider
"At the end of curling Cape Cod, Provincetown has gone through several transformations since the Pilgrims landed therefrom Yankee whaling town to Portuguese fishing village to bohemian artist enclave to, today, one of the world's most popular gay resorts. Surprisingly, each of those segments of society contributed to the 'P-town' of today."
Chicago Sun-Times
oKaren Krahuliks Provincetown is the definitive book on the history of that mysterious and magical place. Its a singular accomplishment. Im grateful to her for writing it, as I suspect many others will be for years and years to come.ö
Michael Cunningham, author of The Hours
"From Pilgrim's Landing to gay Disneyland, Provincetown has remade itself again and again. Karen Krahulik's remarkable book deftly charts these transformations. She manages to weave New England Yankees, Portuguese fisherman, bohemian artists, and lesbian entrepreneurs into a single history that is both absorbing and revelatory. In her hands, class, race, gender, and sexuality stop being categories or slogans and instead are the stuff of a community's story. This is social history at its most original and very best."
John D'Emilio, author of Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities
oKrahulik tells a rich and compelling story of a unique community shaped by immigration, global economic forces, ethnic tensions, commercialism, and the struggles of individuals and groups who deeply loved eLands End.ö
Leila J. Rupp, University of California, Santa Barbara "Krahulik's entertaining social study persuasively and engagingly details that there are places in America- and Provincetown is one of them- where a kind of vibrant, magical co-existence, accepting and respecting diversity, has taken root and still survives."
Bookmarks.com
How did a sleepy New England fishing village become a gay mecca? In this dynamic history, Karen Christel Krahulik explains why Provincetown, Massachusettsalternately known as oLands End,ö oCape-tip,ö oCape-end,ö and, to some, oQueersville, U.S.Aöhas meant many things to many people.
Provincetown tells the story of this beguiling coastal town, from its early history as a mid-nineteenth century colonial village to its current stature as a bustling gay tourist destination. It details the many cultures and groupsYankee artists, Portuguese fishermen, touriststhat have comprised and influenced Provincetown, and explains how all of them, in conjunction with larger economic and political forces, come together to create a gay and lesbian mecca.
Through personal stories and historical accounts, Provincetown reveals the fascinating features that have made Provincetown such a textured and colorful destination: its fame as the landfall of the Mayflower Pilgrims, charm as an eccentric artistscolony, and allure as a Dionysian playground. It also hints at one of Provincetowns most dramatic economic changes: its turn from fishing village to resort town. From a history of fishing economies to a history of tourism, Provincetown, in the end, is as eclectic and vibrant as the city itself.
Review
"Karen Krahuliks
Provincetown is the definitive book on the history of that mysterious and magical place. Its a singular accomplishment. Im grateful to her for writing it, as I suspect many others will be for years and years to come."
- Michael Cunningham, author of The Hours
Review
"At the end of curling Cape Cod, Provincetown has gone through several transformations since the Pilgrims landed therefrom Yankee whaling town to Portuguese fishing village to bohemian artist enclave to, today, one of the world's most popular gay resorts. Surprisingly, each of those segments of society contributed to the 'P-town' of today."
- Chicago Sun-Times
Review
"This book performs a service by judiciously compiling the facts of Provincetown's history." - GayandLesbian Review
Review
"This book performs a service by judiciously compiling the facts of Provincetowns history."
- Gay and Lesbian Review
Review
&8220;Krahulik offers a fascinating and lively account of how Provincetown, Massachusetts, became America's most famous gay resort. The book is both a celebration of the community's embrace of freedom and a reminder that Provincetown—despite its vaunted tolerance for sexual nonconformity—faced problems of racism, sexism, and economic exploitation. . . . Krahulik shows how the different and sometimes overlapping constituencies of Provincetown shaped compromises that allowed the community to persist and prosper. But this important book also reveals that being a gay resort did not protect Provincetown from class, racial, ethnic, or gender conflicts.”
“t;Krahulik combines traditional research methods and oral histories to record and interpret this journey in a respectful, scholarly manner.”
“At the end of curling Cape Cod, Provincetown has gone through several transformations since the Pilgrims landed there—from Yankee whaling town to Portuguese fishing village to bohemian artist enclave to, today, one of the world's most popular gay resorts. Surprisingly, each of those segments of society contributed to the ‘P-town’ of today.&”
&“Karen Krahulik’s Provincetown is the definitive book on the history of that mysterious and magical place. It’s a singular accomplishment. I’m grateful to her for writing it, as I suspect many others will be for years and years to come.”
“This book performs a service by judiciously compiling the facts of Provincetown’s history.”
Synopsis
How did a sleepy New England fishing village become a gay mecca? In this dynamic history, Karen Christel Krahulik explains why Provincetown, Massachusetts--alternately known as -Land's End, - -Cape-tip, - -Cape-end, - and, to some, -Queersville, U.S.A---has meant many things to many people.
Provincetown tells the story of this beguiling coastal town, from its early history as a mid-nineteenth century colonial village to its current stature as a bustling gay tourist destination. It details the many cultures and groups--Yankee artists, Portuguese fishermen, tourists--that have comprised and influenced Provincetown, and explains how all of them, in conjunction with larger economic and political forces, come together to create a gay and lesbian mecca.
Through personal stories and historical accounts, Provincetown reveals the fascinating features that have made Provincetown such a textured and colorful destination: its fame as the landfall of the Mayflower Pilgrims, charm as an eccentric artists' colony, and allure as a Dionysian playground. It also hints at one of Provincetown's most dramatic economic changes: its turn from fishing village to resort town. From a history of fishing economies to a history of tourism, Provincetown, in the end, is as eclectic and vibrant as the city itself.
Synopsis
The fascinating history of the coastal town--from fishing village to gay mecca
How did a sleepy New England fishing village become a gay mecca? In this dynamic history, Karen Christel Krahulik explains why Provincetown, Massachusetts--alternately known as "Land's End," "Cape-tip," "Cape-end," and, to some, "Queersville, U.S.A"--has meant many things to many people.
Provincetown tells the story of this beguiling coastal town, from its early history as a mid-nineteenth century colonial village to its current stature as a bustling gay tourist destination. It details the many cultures and groups--Yankee artists, Portuguese fishermen, tourists--that have comprised and influenced Provincetown, and explains how all of them, in conjunction with larger economic and political forces, come together to create a gay and lesbian mecca.
Through personal stories and historical accounts, Provincetown reveals the fascinating features that have made Provincetown such a textured and colorful destination: its fame as the landfall of the Mayflower Pilgrims, charm as an eccentric artists' colony, and allure as a Dionysian playground. It also hints at one of Provincetown's most dramatic economic changes: its turn from fishing village to resort town. From a history of fishing economies to a history of tourism, Provincetown, in the end, is as eclectic and vibrant as the city itself.
Synopsis
How did a sleepy New England fishing village become a gay mecca? In this dynamic history, Karen Christel Krahulik explains why Provincetown, Massachusettsalternately known as “Land's End,” “Cape-tip,” “Cape-end,” and, to some, “Queersville, U.S.A”has meant many things to many people.
Provincetown tells the story of this beguiling coastal town, from its early history as a mid-nineteenth century colonial village to its current stature as a bustling gay tourist destination. It details the many cultures and groups—Yankee artists, Portuguese fishermen, tourists—that have comprised and influenced Provincetown, and explains how all of them, in conjunction with larger economic and political forces, come together to create a gay and lesbian mecca.
Through personal stories and historical accounts, Provincetown reveals the fascinating features that have made Provincetown such a textured and colorful destination: its fame as the landfall of the Mayflower Pilgrims, charm as an eccentric artists colony, and allure as a Dionysian playground. It also hints at one of Provincetowns most dramatic economic changes: its turn from fishing village to resort town. From a history of fishing economies to a history of tourism, Provincetown, in the end, is as eclectic and vibrant as the city itself.
About the Author
Samir Amin is director of the Third World Forum in Dakar, Senegal. His numerous works include The Liberal Virus, Accumulation on a World Scale, Unequal Development, and Spectres of Capitalism.