Drawing on rich archival material and in-depth interviews, a Supreme Court lawyer and political pundit chronicles the gay rights movement, revealing how the fight for gay rights has changed the American landscape for all citizens, blurring rigid gender lines and redefining the definition of family.

Introduction: How an army of good gays won the west -- Gays and the cities : community first, politics later -- Red in bed : it takes a communist to recognize gay oppression -- It was the sixties that did it : gays get radical, radicals get gay -- Stonewall uprising : gays finally get some respect -- The good gays fight the four horsemen : crazy, sinful, criminal, and subversive -- Dying for the movement : the terrible political payoff of AIDS -- ACT UP : five years that shook the world -- Failed marriages and losing battles : the premature campaign for marriage and military service -- Founding fathers : winning modern rights before fighting ancient battles -- Massing the troops for the last battle : the new-media gay revolution -- With liberal friends : who needs enemies? -- Victory : the civil rights march of our generation -- On the shoulders of giants -- Chronology.