This collection of Robert Dawidoffs essays and journalism is peopled by thelikes of the Founding Fathers Fred Astaire Henry and William James SophieTucker Trent... » 

This collection of Robert Dawidoffs essays and journalism is peopled by thelikes of the Founding Fathers Fred Astaire Henry and William James SophieTucker Trent Lott and Cole Porter. Drawing together this unlikely cast ofcharacters Dawidoff probes into the role of outsider groups as well asintellectual and political elites in the formation of American culture.As a scholar of intellectual and cultural history Dawidoff takes the stancethat historians ought to take an active role in our democratic cultureinforming and participating in public discourse. He argues for a broad reachwhen it comes to cultural expression resisting the polarization of formalintellectual history and folk or commercial popular culture. In his view RalphWaldo Emerson and Katharine Hepburn are equally worthy topics for a historiansconsideration provided that they are treated with equal seriousness of purposeand analytic rigor. In The Gay Nineties section that closes the book hetraces key events in the continual struggle for gay and lesbian civil fightsand takes on such unresolved issues as safer sex needle exchange programs tocontrol HIV transmission and the public controversy around the portrayal ofgay and lesbian television character.Divided into sections that deal with the patriarchs of American political andintellectual culture expressive culture and a historians public voice thisbook is a model of engaged and engaging writing. Accessible and witty MakingHistory Matter will appeal to general and academic readers interested inAmerican history as well as gay and lesbian political and cultural issues. «