Coming Out Under Fire
The History of Gay Men and Women in World War ll
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Narrated by:
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Victor Bevine
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By:
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Allan Berube
About this listen
During World War II, as the United States called on its citizens to serve in unprecedented numbers, the presence of gay Americans in the armed forces increasingly conflicted with the expanding anti-homosexual policies and procedures of the military. In Coming Out Under Fire, Allan Berube examines in depth and detail these social and political confrontations - not as a story of how the military victimized homosexuals, but as a story of how a dynamic power relationship developed between gay citizens and their government, transforming them both.
Drawing on GIs' wartime letters, extensive interviews with gay veterans, and declassified military documents, Berube thoughtfully constructs a startling history of the two wars gay military men and women fought - one for America and another as homosexuals within the military.
Berube's book, the inspiration for the 1995 Peabody Award-winning documentary film of the same name, has become a classic since it was published in 1990, just three years prior to the controversial "don't ask, don't tell" policy. With a new foreword by historians John D'Emilio and Estelle B. Freedman, this book remains a valuable contribution to the history of World War II, as well as to the ongoing debate regarding the role of gays in the U.S. military.
©1990 Allan Berube; 2010 foreword by Estelle B. Freedman and John D’Emilio (P)2012 Audible, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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An outstanding book.
- By David Farley on 10-21-15
By: Lillian Faderman
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Asperger's Children
- The Origins of Autism in Nazi Vienna
- By: Edith Sheffer
- Narrated by: Christa Lewis
- Length: 9 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1930s and 1940s Vienna, child psychiatrist Hans Asperger sought to define autism as a diagnostic category, aiming to treat those children, usually boys, he deemed capable of participating fully in society. Depicted as a compassionate and devoted researcher, Asperger was in fact deeply influenced by Nazi psychiatry. Although he did offer individualized care to children he deemed promising, he also prescribed harsh institutionalization and even transfer to Spiegelgrund for children with greater disabilities, who, he held, could not integrate into the community.
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Powerful but partial analysis
- By Mira Krishnan on 12-17-20
By: Edith Sheffer
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The Nazi Hunters
- By: Andrew Nagorski
- Narrated by: Kevin Stillwell
- Length: 13 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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More than seven decades after the end of the Second World War, the era of the Nazi hunters is drawing to a close as they and the hunted die off. Their saga can now be told almost in its entirety. After the Nuremberg trials and the start of the Cold War, most of the victors in World War II lost interest in prosecuting Nazi war criminals. Many of the lower-ranking perpetrators quickly blended in with the millions who were seeking to rebuild their lives in a new Europe, while those who felt most at risk fled the continent.
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Best on subject
- By night owl on 03-09-17
By: Andrew Nagorski
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Heinrich Himmler
- The SS, Gestapo, His Life and Career
- By: Roger Manvell, Heinrich Fraenkel
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 11 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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Authors Roger Manvell and Heinrich Fraenkel, notable biographers of the World War II German leaders Joseph Goebbels and Herman Goring, delve into the life of one of the most sinister, clever, and successful of all the Nazi leaders: Heinrich Himmler. As the head of the feared SS, Himler supervised the extermination of millions. Here is the story of how a seemingly ordinary boy grew into an obsessive and superstitious man who ventured into herbalism, astrology, and homeopathic medicine before finally turning to the “science” of racial purity and the belief in the superiority of the Aryan people.
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A new and insightful look at a Monster
- By Doc Pearce on 07-26-13
By: Roger Manvell, and others
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Enduring Vietnam
- An American Generation and Its War
- By: James Wright
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 15 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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The Vietnam War is largely recalled as a mistake, either in the decision to engage there or in the nature of the engagement. Or both. Veterans of the war remain largely anonymous figures, accomplices in the mistake. Critically recounting the steps that led to the war, this book does not excuse the mistakes, but it brings those who served out of the shadows. Enduring Vietnam recounts the experiences of the young Americans who fought in Vietnam and of families who grieved those who did not return.
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Great
- By Rebecca Delgado on 03-20-23
By: James Wright
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Supreme Commander
- MacArthur's Triumph in Japan
- By: Seymour Morris
- Narrated by: Charles Constant
- Length: 11 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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He is the most-decorated general in American history - and the only five-star general to receive the Medal of Honor. Yet Douglas MacArthur’s greatest victory was not in war but in peace. As the uniquely titled Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers, he was charged with transforming a defeated, militarist empire into a beacon of peace and democracy - "the greatest gamble ever attempted", he called it.
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Compelling book in an pleasant voice
- By Pierke Bosschieter on 04-24-14
By: Seymour Morris
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Freedom Flyers
- The Tuskegee Airmen of World War II
- By: J. Todd Moye
- Narrated by: Brandon Massey
- Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Freedom Flyers brings to life the legacy of a determined, visionary cadre of African American airmen who proved their capabilities and patriotism beyond question, transformed the armed forces - formerly the nation's most racially polarized institution - and jump-started the modern struggle for racial equality.
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VERY disappointed,,
- By Max & Lucy on 06-11-16
By: J. Todd Moye
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Agent M
- The Lives and Spies of MI5's Maxwell Knight
- By: Henry Hemming
- Narrated by: Henry Hemming
- Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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The fascinating, improbable true story of Maxwell Knight - the great MI5 spymaster and inspiration for the James Bond character M. Maxwell Knight was perhaps the greatest spymaster in history. He did more than anyone in his era to combat the rising threat of fascism in Britain during World War II, in spite of his own history inside this movement. He was also truly eccentric - a thrice-married jazz aficionado who kept a menagerie of exotic pets - and almost totally unqualified for espionage. Yet he had a gift for turning practically anyone into a fearless secret agent.
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Outstanding in every way!
- By Grace O'Malley on 07-18-22
By: Henry Hemming
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The League of Wives
- The Untold Story of the Women Who Took on the U.S. Government to Bring Their Husbands Home
- By: Heath Hardage Lee
- Narrated by: Heath Hardage Lee
- Length: 10 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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The true story of the fierce band of women who battled Washington - and Hanoi - to bring their husbands home from the jungles of Vietnam.
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Great review of history that I lived through as a child
- By Linda B on 11-15-24
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Waging a Good War
- A Military History of the Civil Rights Movement, 1954-1968
- By: Thomas E. Ricks
- Narrated by: JD Jackson
- Length: 14 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Thomas E. Ricks offers an utterly new perspective on America’s greatest moral revolution—the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s—and its legacy today. While the Movement has become synonymous with Martin Luther King Jr.’s ethos of nonviolence, Ricks draws on his deep knowledge of tactics and strategy to advance a surprising but revelatory idea: the greatest victories for Black Americans of the past century were won not by idealism alone, but through recruiting, training, discipline, and organization—the hallmarks of any successful military campaign.
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I was born and raised in Alabama. Jim Crow Era.
- By Moses Pitts on 10-06-22
By: Thomas E. Ricks
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The Future Is History
- How Totalitarianism Reclaimed Russia
- By: Masha Gessen
- Narrated by: Masha Gessen
- Length: 16 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Award-winning journalist Masha Gessen's understanding of the events and forces that have wracked Russia in recent times is unparalleled. In The Future Is History, Gessen follows the lives of four people born at what promised to be the dawn of democracy. Each of them came of age with unprecedented expectations, some as the children and grandchildren of the very architects of the new Russia, each with newfound aspirations of their own - as entrepreneurs, activists, thinkers, and writers, sexual and social beings.
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The author is an international treasure
- By ThreeGems on 10-16-17
By: Masha Gessen
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Infamy
- The Shocking Story of the Japanese American Internment in World War II
- By: Richard Reeves
- Narrated by: James Yaegashi
- Length: 10 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Less than three months after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor and inflamed the nation, President Roosevelt signed an executive order declaring parts of four western states to be a war zone operating under military rule. The US Army immediately began rounding up thousands of Japanese-Americans, sometimes giving them less than 24 hours to vacate their houses and farms. For the rest of the war, these victims of war hysteria were imprisoned in primitive camps.
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Disjointed, disconnected narrative
- By Triple A on 05-22-15
By: Richard Reeves
What listeners say about Coming Out Under Fire
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Anonymous User
- 07-11-24
Very well fleshed out
I really liked the narration, and the book was well written. I especially appreciated the personal stories of actual gay people who served during WW2, it was very informative
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- Joshua
- 09-28-13
More then just History
This book was so much more then just a history of gay men and women during WWII. It was a testament to where LGBT rights have been and where they are going. I was fascinated to discover that the roots of so much LGBT culture developed from the strange liberation that war time afforded some gays and lesbians. And the narrator read the book as if it were a narrative; never once did I feel like facts where just being thrown at me. I always felt engaged. If you are looking for a great new history book to read I highly recommend this one!
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1 person found this helpful
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- Spiceman1957
- 05-06-19
Very informative . I was discharged as a US Navy veteran in 1980 (honorable) . I just wish that I could have completed my last
I just wished I could completed my last year of my last year of that
period. . We are now living in an more progressive period. There are so many of the LGBTG community who want to serve their county without fear.
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- Swarmy Barnacles
- 12-27-12
Hidden History of WW2
If you could sum up Coming Out Under Fire in three words, what would they be?
Gays At War
What other book might you compare Coming Out Under Fire to and why?
I don't have one right now to compare it to, it's the first of its kind I've read so far. I'm sure there are others like it out, but I've not seen them yet.
Which character – as performed by Victor Bevine – was your favorite?
I liked his reading, but he seldom brought the veterans to life. Aside from that, he's a great narrator.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
The individual stories, the triumphs and tragedies of love and hate during the war. It was amazing to hear this part of the wartime experience from the words of the men and women. I can't really choose, but maybe the love nests aboard Navy Ships.
Any additional comments?
I'm a combat vet myself who's hated Don't Ask Don't Tell since its inception. I'm not sure if it would've worked, to create an open environment for gays and lesbians, in the past but it's great to finally let everyone be free.
I hope more books like this come out (pun sorta intended) on audible.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Izzy
- 08-14-16
Great book
While I needed this book for history 300 I enjoyed listening and reading the book. It is extremely disturbing and depressing to know that men and women were treated in such a manner. This book is an eye opener.
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- Victor C.
- 06-29-21
Important topic, very dry writing.
I really wish I could say I enjoyed this book. Being gay and fascinated with WWII history, I thought this would be something I would love. Unfortunately, I found myself skipping through chapters. it was extremely repetitive and presented in very much like that of a college textbook writing. Just dry facts after facts that feel a lot like going down the list and then repeat it all over again. I understand the nature of the book doesn't give it a lot of options but I think a lot of important points get lost in the ongoing redundancy. However, I think some will surely enjoy this
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- Susie
- 12-06-12
Bringing the Armed Services Out of the Closet
Berube's classic gay history expose is the book that took the Gay/Military debate out of the twilight zone and right into the White House and Pentagon.
His interviews with gay and lesbian vets of WWII will have you crying, laughing, and screaming at their audacity in the face of brutal discrimination.
I'm so pleased that this is now on Audible!
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5 people found this helpful
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- Stewart Gooderman
- 05-24-15
A primer for understanding our current military
This book chronicles the issues that inductees who happened to be homosexual faced when entering our military to serve our country as the United States entered the Second World War. The complete misunderstanding of the homosexual as a pervert as opposed to a minority class of people by the military is well documented here. And just as it did with Black Americans, Homosexual Americans were used when needed, then persecuted and disposed of when they were no longer needed. The results were the same: a call for militant action on the parts of both minorities to claim what was rightfully theirs and to be treated with the dignity that is expected for any American. It is still not completely there for both minorities.
Mr Bevine is an adequate narrator although he had a tendency to break his phrases poorly, which I think should have been edited and redone.
I think the book is a bit too long and Mr Berube could have said what he wanted to say in far less words and sentences.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Jeffrey
- 02-24-14
An Expose, Shocking and Horrid Truths of WWII
This is not a story, it's a written documentary. It's unvarnished and parts of it will make you cringe and in my case, I became internally enraged at the horrid "Third Reich" bullying and outright criminal activities perpetrated by the U.S. military against gay U.S. soldiers, male and female. In the end, it is understood that this all apparently had to be, but I'll forever harbor a sense of shame for those stupid men and women who in their fear and self-perpetrated ignorance brought nothing but hatred and violence towards fellow soldiers. At any rate, it's a read that will both inform and impress. A documentary film emerged from this book, it in no way resembles this book, however.
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1 person found this helpful