A review by meganmilks
Lou Sullivan: Daring To Be a Man Among Men by Brice D. Smith

4.0

Three point five, rounding up-- a digestible and absorbing biography of an important figure for gay/trans/AIDS activism-- Lou comes across as totally lovable, a joy to spend so much time with. I chafed at some of the biographer's interpretive claims, some of which felt heavy-handed, others simply weirdly unproductive speculations about how Lou's life might have been different if he had, say, not moved to SF. But there's a ton of heart here, and also worth reading for the history into the formation and politics of Milwaukee's LGBTQ community, and how Lou negotiated trans/lesbian tensions during the rise of lesbian separatism in the Midwest.