Laud Humphreys: Prophet of Homosexuality and Sociology - Softcover

"This book beautifully captures the turbulent events of a complex and intense person. It is written in a clear and readable style and I predict it will become a classic."--Martin S. Weinberg, coauthor of "Dual Attraction: Understanding Bisexuality" "Galliher, Brekhus, and Keys fill in some significant gaps in our knowledge about sociology in the latter part of the twentieth century. Their work is highly relevant to present-day sociology." Gideon Sjoberg, University of Texas at Austin "No book traces Humphreys' biography and attempts to decipher fact from fiction as thoroughly as this book." Valerie Jenness, Professor and Chair of the Department of Criminology, Law and Society, University of California-Irvine "This book beautifully captures the turbulent events of a complex and intense person. It is written in a clear and readable style and I predict it will become a classic." Martin S. Weinberg, coauthor of "Dual Attraction: Understanding Bisexuality" "No book traces Humphreys' biography and attempts to decipher fact from fiction as thoroughly as this book."--Valerie Jenness, Professor and Chair of the Department of Criminology, Law and Society, University of California-Irvine

Laud Humphreys (1930-1988) was a pioneering and fearless sociologist, an Episcopal priest, and a civil rights, gay, and antiwar activist. In graduate school during the late 1960s, he conducted extensive fieldwork in public restrooms in a St. Louis city park to discover patterns of impersonal sex among men. He published the results in Tearoom Trade. Three decades later the book still triggers many debates about the ethics of his research methods. In 1974, he was the first sociologist to come out as gay. Laud Humphreys: Prophet of Homosexuality and Sociology examines the groundbreaking work through the life of a complex man and the life of the man through his controversial work. It is an invaluable contribution to sociology and a fascinating record of a courageous life.