The Journalist of Castro Street

In an age when Anderson Cooper, Rachel Maddow, and Jonathan Capehart are among the biggest names in journalism, it is hard to fathom the pioneering role of Randy Shilts. The first openly gay journalist hired by a mainstream newspaper (the San Francisco Chronicle) and a local television station (Kqed), he went on to write three pathbreaking books about the Lgbt (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) community—The Mayor of Castro Street: The Life and Times of Harvey Milk (1982); And the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the Aids Epidemic (1987); and Conduct Unbecoming: Gays and Lesbians in the U.S. Military (1993). The first two became the basis for major motion pictures; all three affected the movement they chronicled. In Andrew E. Stoner's biography, we learn a lot about Shilts, one of the most public gay figures of his day. Like many luminaries from San Francisco's era of

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