512 pages |Hardcover

From a young Harvard- and Cambridge-trained historian, the untold story of a revolution for gay rights that began a generation before Stonewall

In 1957, Frank Kameny, an astronomer working for the US Defense Department in Hawaii, received a summons to report immediately to Washington, D.C. The Pentagon had reason to believe he was a homosexual, and after a series of humiliating interviews, Kamenylike countless gay men and women for before himwas promptly dismissed from his government job. Unlike many others, though, he fought back.

Eric Cervini tells the story of what followed in this pathbreaking history of an early champion of gay liberation. Based on firsthand accounts, recently declassified FBI records, and forty thousand personal documents,The Deviant’s Waris a story of America (and Washington) at a cultural and sexual crossroads, of shocking, byzantine public battles with Congress, of FBI informants, murder, betrayal, sex, loveand ultimately victory.

“Eric Cervinis work is an important contribution to making our nations history whole and truthful. Grounded in extensive research, it tells the history of Frank Kamenys tenacious and courageous battle with the federal government to secure respect, dignity and equality for gays and lesbians. Kameny was a pioneer who helped carve a path to a new and better world for LGBTQ Americans and for our entire nation.The Deviants Waris a compelling work which should be on the reading list for everyone who cares about the quest for full civil rights for all Americans.” US Senator Tammy Baldwin

“When Frank Kameny was dismissed from his job in 1957, the army lost an astronomer and the cause of freedom gained a general. For the next fifty years, having found his real lifes work, Kameny stood on every front line of the gay rights movement. Because of him, more than anyone else, hundreds of thousands of federal employeesincluding soldiersnow go off each morning, without fear, to earn their livings and serve their country.The Deviants Warthrillingly gives Kameny his due, putting this brave, sometimes impossible, iron-willed man at the center of an epic struggle for liberty.” Thomas Mallon, author ofFellow Travelers