I read this book when I was newly out and went through the "read everything remotely queer" stage. This is truly a gem. It is everything a work of history should be: engaging, informative and well-crafted.I recommend this to GLBTQ folks who are lacking knowledge about our history, as well as people with an interest in women's studies and feminism. Good photos, too.

Lillian Faderman has written some of the best works on the lesbian experience throughout the ages, and "Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers" is no exception. She covers every facet of the subculture from the turn of the 20th century to the present day with impeccable scholarship, and her writing is engaging and highly readable. She examines everything from 1950's butch/femme, 70's lesbian feminism, and the resurgence of trendy "lipstick lesbians" with equal attention. This book is a must-have for every queer library, and is an important contribution to the cause of lesbian visiblity.

Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers is a fascinating work that traces the cultural history of lesbianism in the United States -- providing a broad and thorough overview of lesbianism's diversity, its relationship to feminism, and its evolving forms of resistance in relationship to the oppressions of the dominant culture. Perhaps what is most impressive about this book is that while it is an impressively researched and intellectually stimulating piece of scholarship, it is also an extremely engaging read. Faderman draws the reader into lesbian cultural history in a way that is never clinical, but compellingly human--under her treatment, the lesbian subculture emerges in all of its varied complexity, its celebratory subversiveness, as a fascinatingly rich and vibrant culture of historical, political, and sexual significance. This book is a marvelous introduction to lesbian culture and history . . . it is entertaining, empowering, and utterly engaging.

A fascinating book that should have pride of place in every English speaking lesbian's library.

Proceeding decade by decade, this history traces the ways that lesbians’ choices and possibilities were constrained and amplified by the changes in society as a whole. Although the many details and interviews are very interesting, the one flaw in the narrative is that it tends towards the repetitive, making every point several times in a somewhat didactic way. Still, the book is well worth reading even all these years after it first appeared.