Daniel Harris (1) (1957–)

Rather than "rise and fall" I would describe the contents of this book to be aspects of gay culture in the twentieth century. The author succeeds in providing a brief but interesting overview of certain areas such as Camp, Romance, the Body, Gay subculture, clothing, and the impact of Aids. Overall a fascinating introduction for gay and non-gay readers.

Interesting, but gets a little repetetive. The narrator comes across as a self obsessed wiener. Loses steam about half-way through.

A fun, easy-to-read piece of pop sociology. Harris breaks down the title concepts and shows how they are socially constructed. For instance, what is considered romantic and why. How much do diamond merchants and florists have to do with our conception of "romantic"? The section about CUTE will make you look at stuffed animals in a whole new way.