{"product_id":"political-animal-the-life-and-times-of-stewart-butler-willie-morris-books-in-memoir-and-biography","title":"Political Animal: The Life and Times of Stewart Butler (Willie Morris Books in Memoir and Biography)","description":"Used hardcover in Very Good condition. During Mardi Gras 1973, Stewart Butler (1930-2020) fell in love with Alfred Doolittle--a wealthy socialite and schizophrenic from San Francisco. Their relationship was an improbable love story that changed the course of LGBTQ+ history. With Doolittle's money, Butler was able to retire and devote his life to political activism in the cause of queer liberation. A survivor of the horrific Up Stairs Lounge arson, Butler was a founding member of the first statewide lesbian and gay rights organization in Louisiana and an early champion for transgender rights, playing a key role in the eight-year struggle to persuade PFLAG to become the first national LGBTQ+ organization to include trans people in its mission statement. \u003cp\u003e In \u003ci\u003ePolitical Animal: The Life and Times of Stewart Butler\u003c\/i\u003e, author Frank Perez traces Butler's amazing life from his early childhood in Depression-era New Orleans, his adolescence at Carville where his father worked, his first unsuccessful attempt at college, his time in the army as a closeted gay man, his adventures in Alaska, his transformation into a hippie in the 1960s, his love affair with Doolittle, his decades as a gay rights advocate, and ultimately, his twilight years as an elder statesman. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Based on Butler's own personal papers, including hundreds of letters, and dozens of interviews, \u003ci\u003ePolitical Animal \u003c\/i\u003epaints an intimate portrait of a legendary figure in gay politics and the times in which he lived.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Perez, Frank","offers":[{"title":"Very Good","offer_id":53876468187419,"sku":"mon0000632150","price":8.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0958\/4004\/3291\/files\/25864123482720.jpg?v=1788535774","url":"https:\/\/bookalley.com\/products\/political-animal-the-life-and-times-of-stewart-butler-willie-morris-books-in-memoir-and-biography","provider":"Book Alley","version":"1.0","type":"link"}