GENER AL INTEREST
The Rest of It
Hustlers, Cocaine, Depression, and Then Some, 1976–1988 martin duberman
Martin Duberman is Distinguished Professor of
For many, the death of a parent marks
History, Emeritus at City University of New York, where
a low point in their personal lives. For
he founded and directed the Center for Lesbian and Gay
Martin Duberman—a major historian
Studies. He is the award-winning author of numerous
and a founding figure in the history
histories, biographies, memoirs, essays, plays, and novels,
of gay and lesbian studies—the death
which include Cures: A Gay Man’s Odyssey; Paul Robeson; Stonewall; Midlife Queer: Autobiography of a Decade,
of his mother was just the beginning
1971–1981; Black Mountain: An Exploration in Community;
of what became a twelve-year period
The Worlds of Lincoln Kirstein; Jews/Queers/Germans; and more than a dozen others. Duberman received the 2007 Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Historical Association. He was also a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award. Duberman lives in New York City. “Martin Duberman’s page-turning account of these dozen years of his life—which were deeply unhappy and riven with major crises—is searing in its honesty, unsparing in its self-criticism, and revealing of things that most people would rather keep to themselves. The Rest of It is an amazingly absorbing and powerful book.” — JOHN D’EMILIO “The Rest of It is a gripping, sometimes funny, always
searingly honest personal account of one gay man’s journey during a pivotal era in the United States and in the LGBTQ rights movement. Much more than that, it’s an important historical record from a writer and activist who was deeply immersed in shaping many of
The Rest of It: Hustlers, Cocaine, Depression, and Then Some 1976–1988 MARTIN DUBERMAN
filled with despair, drug addiction, and debauchery. From his cocaine use, massive heart attack, and immersion into New York’s gay hustler scene to experiencing near-suicidal depression and attending rehab, The Rest of It is the untold and revealing story of how Duberman managed to survive his
turbulent personal life while still playing leading roles in the gay community and the academy. Despite the hardships, Duberman managed to be incredibly productive: he wrote his biography of Paul Robeson, rededicated himself to teaching, wrote plays, and coedited the prize-winning Hidden from History. His exploration of new paths of scholarship culminated in his founding of the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies, thereby inaugurating a new academic discipline. At the outset of the HIV/AIDS epidemic Duberman increased his political activism, and in these pages he also describes the tensions between the New Left and gay organizers, and the pro‑
the movement’s milestones. This book fills in the gaps
found homophobia that created the conditions for queer radical activism. Filled
of Martin Duberman’s intense, amazing, and enormously
with gossip; cameo appearances by luminaries such as Gore Vidal, Norman
productive life, and we’re all the wiser for having it.” — MICHEL ANGELO SIGNORILE
Mailer, Vivian Gornick, Susan Brownmiller, Kate Millett, Néstor Almendros, and many others; and most importantly, an unflinching and fearless honesty, The Rest of It provides scathing insights into a troubling decade of both personal and political history—a stimulating look into a key period of Duberman’s life, which, until now, had been too painful to share. “In this stark exploration of the emotions of gay male life, Martin Duberman goes into his drug use, mental and physical health, and his search for a relationship of permanence, all while exposing the nuts and bolts of writing radical political biography and negotiating the ever-changing landscape of gay politics and the academy. As we start to historicize him and his legacy as he nears the end of his life, this work will become more important to future scholars.”— SAR AH SCHULMAN
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G AY & L E S B I A N S T U D I E S / M E M O I R
March 256 pages cloth, 978‑0‑8223‑7070‑3, $27.95tr/£22.99 Available as an e‑book