Unrequited Love

Diary of an Accidental Activist

Dennis Altman

$29.95

Paperback

Not in-store but you can order this
How long will it take?

Availability Information

We source books from suppliers in Australia and overseas. For books we don't currently have in stock, the time it takes to get them from our suppliers can vary widely - from a few days to a few months - so we check each book with each supplier to determine the expected time it will take to be supplied to us.

We then advise you accordingly. If the time taken to get any book is too long for you, you can let us know and we will cancel or adjust your order, and refund as required.

To find out the anticipated arrival time for specific items prior to ordering, please contact us by phone or email:

Phone +61 2 9264 3111, or 1800 4 BOOKS (1800 4 26657) if outside Sydney:
option 1 Abbey's Bookshop (Crime, History, Science, Kids & more) • info@abbeys.com.au
option 2 Language Book Centre (ESL & Foreign Languages) • language@abbeys.com.au
option 3 Galaxy Bookshop (Sci-fi, Fantasy, Romance, Graphic Novels) • sf@galaxybooks.com.au

QTY:

English

Monash University Publishing
01 September 2019

Biography: historical, political & military; Biography - Australian

"'Harvey was shot, along with Mayor George Moscone, in 1978, and San Francisco and much of the Castro feels as if not much has changed since he worked the streets to build a gay political machine. Where his camera shop stood there is now a manicure salon, next to the storefront of the Human Rights Campaign Fund, so that if one skews one's view it becomes possible to read their adjoining signs as: ""Hand Jobs are a Human Right"", as indeed they are.'

Dennis Altman first travelled from Australia to the United States when Lyndon Johnson was President, beginning a long obsession with the US. In the early 1970s he was involved in New York Gay Liberation; his 1971 study Homosexual: Oppression and Liberation, is widely regarded as a classic work in its field. In the 1980s Altman lived in San Francisco during the onset of the AIDS epidemic. Later he sat on the Australian National Council on AIDS and international organisations including, as president, the AIDS Society of Asia and the Pacific.

The election of Donald Trump took place while Altman was back in California on one of his frequent visits. In this diarised memoir, moving between Australia, the United States, Europe and parts of Asia, Gore Vidal, James Baldwin, Susan Sontag, Christopher Isherwood and many others people a story of a half century of activism, intellectualism, friendship and conflict.

'Dennis Altman's peripatetic book Unrequited Love moves from Australia to the United States, across Europe and parts of Asia. Filled with intellectual luminaries such as James Baldwin, Dorothy Porter, Susan Sontag, and Christos Tsiolkas, Altman's life and career has been intense and wide-ranging. The US counter culture of the mid-1960s, amid the early days of Gay Liberation, was the melting pot for his early writing, culminating in his 1971 study Homosexual: Oppression and Liberation. From here his work shifted and expanded with the changing terrain of sexual politics, including the AIDs epidemic, which he witnessed firsthand during his time in New York. Unrequited Love – a memoir in diaries – is the work of a hugely influential Australian writer and commentator.' — Sebastian Sharp, Australian Book Review

'From Lyndon Johnson to Trump, Altman's diary takes us from the early days of AIDS to gay liberation against a backdrop of Australia's strange love for America.' — Gillian Triggs

'An ingenious combining of memoir and analysis, personal reflection and social science.' — Frank Bongiorno"

By: Dennis Altman
Imprint: Monash University Publishing
Country of Publication: Australia
Dimensions: Height: 210mm, Width: 135mm,
ISBN: 9781925835120
ISBN 10: 192583512X
Pages: 256
Publication Date: 01 September 2019
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Dennis Altman, a Professorial Fellow in Human Security at LaTrobe University, has published thirteen books, most recently The End of the Homosexual? and (with Jon Symons) Queer Wars. In 2006, The Bulletin listed Dennis Altman as one of the 100 most influential Australians ever, and he was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in 2008.

Reviews for Unrequited Love: Diary of an Accidental Activist

From Lyndon Johnson to Trump, Altman's diary takes us from the early days of AIDS to gay liberation against a backdrop of Australia's strange love for America. -- Gillian Triggs An ingenious combining of memoir and analysis, personal reflection and social science. -- Frank Bongiorno