A relatively succinct, yet comprehensive history of lesbian women in America, which also touches on feminism, civil rights and relations between the gay and lesbian communities. As far as I am aware this is the most comprehensive work on lesbian history available. Faderman did extensive research and the book is rife with footnotes and comprised predominately of interviews conducted for this book.

Faderman is upfront about her biases, although her disbelief in "congenitalism" may make modern readers uncomfortable. She does seem to view the 80's as a terminal point in lesbian history, and it would be interesting to see her characterize the 90's and 00's.
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Longer review later. I bring tidbits from this book up all the time in discussion lately, and I'm hoping to get Sam to read it, too. Not perfect and I don't agree with everything she says, but very good, well-researched, and SO interesting. ( )

All the stars to this fabulous, easy to read, well researched, history of lesbians in 20th cent america. ( )

I zipped through Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers: A History of Lesbian Life in Twentieth-Century America by Lillian Faderman.

This was a good book if you’d like semi-decent coverage of a fairly large period of lesbian history. It introduced me to lesbians at different times in history and gave me an overarching idea of how immensely lesbian life and attitudes towards lesbians have shifted and changed during the last hundred-odd years in America.

I learned more about romantic friendships between women at the turn of the twentieth century—relationships that existed before anyone even knew the term “lesbian,” and which were accepted and encouraged by society.

I learned about the women—apparently mostly lesbians—who served in World War I. Although they were a great asset to the military, they were spied on and threatened with expulsion if their sexual orientation were discovered.

I also learned more about how lesbians fit into the second-wave feminist movement: creating lesbian communes and choosing a lesbian identity in defiance of the patriarchy.

Faderman did attempt to include the experiences of women of color in her book, although unfortunately, there is not as much information about them as I would have liked. If you want a good overview of lesbian history in America, though, this book is a good choice. ( )

A little dated but it holds up pretty well. ( )