Published to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, investigates the history of crimes against homosexuals in the decades before the uprising and how they fought against this criminalization of their lives and started the gay rights movement. - (Baker & Taylor)

“A fast-paced, meticulously researched, thoroughly engaging (and often infuriating) look-see into the systematic criminalization of gay men and widespread condemnation of homosexuality post-World War I.” ?Alexis Burling, San Francisco Chronicle

Stories of murder have never been just about killers and victims. Instead, crime stories take the shape of their times and reflect cultural notions and prejudices. In this Edgar Award–finalist for Best Fact Crime, James Polchin recovers and recounts queer stories from the crime pages?often lurid and euphemistic?that reveal the hidden history of violence against gay men. But what was left unsaid in these crime pages provides insight into the figure of the queer man as both criminal and victim, offering readers tales of vice and violence that aligned gender and sexual deviance with tragic, gruesome endings. Victims were often reported as having made “indecent advances,” forcing the accused's hands in self-defense and reducing murder charges to manslaughter.

As noted by Caleb Cain in The New Yorker review of Indecent Advances, “it’s impossible to understand gay life in twentieth-century America without reckoning with the dark stories. Gay men were unable to shake free of them until they figured out how to tell the stories themselves, in a new way.” Indecent Advances is the first book to fully investigate these stories of how queer men navigated a society that criminalized them and displayed little compassion for the violence they endured. Polchin shows, with masterful insight, how this discrimination was ultimately transformed by activists to help shape the burgeoning gay rights movement in the years leading up to Stonewall.

Edgar Award finalist, Best Fact Crime
American Masters (PBS), “1 of 5 Essential Culture Reads”
One of CrimeReads’ “Best True Crime Books of the Year”

“A fast–paced, meticulously researched, thoroughly engaging (and often infuriating) look–see into the systematic criminalization of gay men and widespread condemnation of homosexuality post–World War I.” —Alexis Burling, San Francisco Chronicle

Stories of murder have never been just about killers and victims. Instead, crime stories take the shape of their times and reflect cultural notions and prejudices. In this Edgar Award–finalist for Best Fact Crime, James Polchin recovers and recounts queer stories from the crime pages?often lurid and euphemistic?that reveal the hidden history of violence against gay men. But what was left unsaid in these crime pages provides insight into the figure of the queer man as both criminal and victim, offering readers tales of vice and violence that aligned gender and sexual deviance with tragic, gruesome endings. Victims were often reported as having made “indecent advances,” forcing the accused's hands in self–defense and reducing murder charges to manslaughter.

As noted by Caleb Cain in The New Yorker review of Indecent Advances, “it’s impossible to understand gay life in twentieth–century America without reckoning with the dark stories. Gay men were unable to shake free of them until they figured out how to tell the stories themselves, in a new way.” Indecent Advances is the first book to fully investigate these stories of how queer men navigated a society that criminalized them and displayed little compassion for the violence they endured. Polchin shows, with masterful insight, how this discrimination was ultimately transformed by activists to help shape the burgeoning gay rights movement in the years leading up to Stonewall. - (Random House, Inc.)

'A fast'paced, meticulously researched, thoroughly engaging (and often infuriating) look'see into the systematic criminalization of gay men and widespread condemnation of homosexuality post'World War I.' 'Alexis Burling, San Francisco Chronicle

Stories of murder have never been just about killers and victims. Instead, crime stories take the shape of their times and reflect cultural notions and prejudices. In this Edgar Award'finalist for Best Fact Crime, James Polchin recovers and recounts queer stories from the crime pages'often lurid and euphemistic'that reveal the hidden history of violence against gay men. But what was left unsaid in these crime pages provides insight into the figure of the queer man as both criminal and victim, offering readers tales of vice and violence that aligned gender and sexual deviance with tragic, gruesome endings. Victims were often reported as having made 'indecent advances," forcing the accused's hands in self'defense and reducing murder charges to manslaughter.

As noted by Caleb Cain in The New Yorker review of Indecent Advances, 'it's impossible to understand gay life in twentieth'century America without reckoning with the dark stories. Gay men were unable to shake free of them until they figured out how to tell the stories themselves, in a new way.' Indecent Advances is the first book to fully investigate these stories of how queer men navigated a society that criminalized them and displayed little compassion for the violence they endured. Polchin shows, with masterful insight, how this discrimination was ultimately transformed by activists to help shape the burgeoning gay rights movement in the years leading up to Stonewall. - (Random House, Inc.)

JAMES POLCHIN, PhD, has taught at the Princeton Writing Program, the Parsons School of Design, the New School for Public Engagement, and the Creative Nonfiction Foundation. A clinical professor at New York University, he lives in New York City with his husband, the photographer Greg Salvatori. Indecent Advances is his first book. You can follow him at @jamespolchin. - (Perseus Publishing)

James Polchin, PhD, has taught at the Princeton Writing Program, the Parsons School of Design, the New School for Public Engagement, and the Creative Nonfiction Foundation. A clinical professor at New York University, he lives in New York City with his husband, the photographer Greg Salvatori. Indecent Advances is his first book. - (Random House, Inc.)

Booklist Reviews

Polchin tells a sad story of violence perpetrated against gay men in the decades between the end of WWI and the Stonewall riots. A pattern quickly emerges: a gay man invites another man—or men—to his home or, more often, his hotel room and is subsequently found murdered. If the murderer was caught, he offered a "homosexual panic" defense, alleging he was moved to violence when his "host" made indecent advances. The result was often a mitigated sentence or a finding of innocence. Polchin discovers seemingly countless examples of such incidents in the press of the period. Not all of the incidents he records followed this pattern, however. One of the more celebrated exceptions was the murder of the incarcerated Richard Loeb (of Leopold and Loeb notoriety) by a fellow prisoner who once again used the homosexual-panic defense. In all of these cases, the victim is thus turned into the perpetrator. The injustice is appalling. Polchin's extraordinarily well-researched account offers a valuable contribution to both social and previously neglected gay history. Copyright 2019 Booklist Reviews.

Library Journal Reviews

Polchin (liberal studies, New York Univ.) presents a reflective, thoughtful first book that perfectly blends true crime and the history of discrimination against gay men in the 20th century. The author takes a deep dive into the specific crimes against gay men and how their deaths fed the competing cultural narratives of the time; that homosexuality was both a crime and a mental illness. Using these two narratives and the salacious nature of true crime, the public began to see homosexuality as a social and moral issue instead of a personal one. Polchin expertly uses men's stories between World War I and the Stonewall Riots to prove that the fight for equal treatment is not over, and that the history of the LGBTQ+ movement is not always one of activism and celebration. In fact, the LGBTQ+ community is fighting against the stereotypes built on the deaths of these men. VERDICT This insightful history of crimes perpetrated against gay men is essential for social history fans. Readers who enjoy well-researched, deliberate social commentary will appreciate Polchin's enlightening and descriptive style.—Ahliah Bratzler, Indianapolis P.L.