From large cities to rural communities, gay men have long been impassioned pioneers as keepers of culture: rescuing and restoring decrepit buildings, revitalizing blighted neighborhoods, saving artifacts and documents of historical significance. A Passion to Preserve explores this authentic and complex dimension of gay men’s lives by profiling early and contemporary preservationists from throughout the United States, highlighting contributions to the larger culture that gays are exceptionally inclined to make.

“Compelling . . . stories and first-person accounts from gay men across the country . . . provide a colorful picture of a landscape that has not really been painted until now.”—The Advocate

“A concept at once original and yet so obvious it is surprising that no one has attempted it before.”—Library Journal

“A rich and detailed examination of an important and heretofore neglected aspect of our urban heritage.”—Richard Florida, author of The Rise of the Creative Class