The Sexual Outlaw

From the award-winning writer, "a passionate manifesto for gay rights by an author who openly and unapologetically identifies himself as a participant" ( People ).

In this angry, eloquent outcry against the oppression of homosexuals, the author of the classic City of Night gives "an explosive non-fiction account, with commentaries, of three days and nights in the sexual underground" of Los Angeles in the 1970s--the "battlefield" of the sexual outlaw. Using the language and techniques of film, Rechy deftly intercuts the despairing, joyful, and defiant confessions of a male hustler with the "chorus" of his own subversive reflections on sexual identity and sexual politics, and with stark documentary, reports of the violence our society directs against homosexuals--"the only minority against whose existence there are laws."

"An intelligent, persuasive and, in its way, heartbreaking manifesto." -- The New York Times

"A jolting book . . . An intense, personal, and courageous document. A book written out of rage, unnerving, thought provoking." -- Los Angeles Times

Praise for John Rechy

"Rechy shows great comic and tragic talent. He is truly a gifted novelist." --Christopher Isherwood, author and playwright

"His tone rings absolutely true, is absolutely his own, and he has the kind of discipline which allows him a rare and beautiful recklessness. He tells the truth, and tells it with such passion that we are forced to share in the life he conveys. This is a most humbling and liberating achievement." --James Baldwin, novelist, playwright, and activist

"His uncompromising honesty as a gay writer has provoked as much fear as admiration . . . John Rechy doesn't fit into categories. He transcends them. His individual vision is unique, perfect, loving and strong." --Carolyn See, author of Dreaming: Hard Luck and Good Times in America