On being different: What It Means To Be A Homosexual by Merle Miller

Paperback. Penguin Classics. 2012. New Condition

Originally published in 1971, On Being Different is a pioneering and thought-provoking book about being homosexual in America. Just two years after the Stonewall riots, Miller wrote an essay for the New York Times Magazine entitled "What It Means To Be a Homosexual" in response to a homophobic article in Harper's Magazine. Miller's writing, described as "the most widely read and discussed essay of the decade," along with an afterword chronicling his inspiration and readers' responses, became On Being Different — one of the earliest memoirs to affirm the importance of coming out. This updated edition includes a foreword by Dan Savage and an afterword by Charles Kaiser to highlight the impact of Miller's classic work.