Who's Who in Gay and Lesbian History: From Antiquity to World War II (Vol 1)
Aldrich and Wotherspoon (history, Univ. of Sydney) are brave  editors, as a "who's who" for gay studies might be seen as  concretizing in an area in which the  constructionist/essentialist debate is still a minefield.  Nevertheless, they provide an articulate rationale for this book  in their introduction. In addition to justifying the "who's who"  approach in general at a time when social history moves the  focus to "unknown" people, they seek to include anyone of  significance in the history of sexual minorities without any  limits based on what the subjects did in bed. Well over 100  contributors have written the 500 entries, which range from  Sappho to Andr? Gide; most entries are accompanied by a  bibliography. This is a scholarly alternative to more  celebratory or localized works such as Paul Elliott Russell's  The Gay 100 (Citadel, 1996). Along with the companion volume,  Who's Who in Contemporary Gay and Lesbian History, also edited  by Aldrich and Wotherspoon, it belongs in every library  concerned with world history. David Azzolina, Univ. of  Pennsylvania Libs., PhiladelphiaCopyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.