Winning Marriage

November 10, 2014
In an insider's account that focuses as much on the faces behind the movement as the movement itself, Solomon captures a seminal period in the fight for civil rights in America. Currently the national campaign director of Freedom to Marry, Solomon describes the aftermath of Massachusetts's 2003 decision legalizing gay marriage. Rising quickly from a volunteer for the Massachusetts Freedom to Marry Coalition to the executive director of MassEquality, Solomon had a front-row seat to the campaign to defeat a constitutional amendment backed by then-Governor Romney that would have reversed Massachusetts' same-sex marriage court ruling. Later chapters describe how victories were achieved in the New York state legislature and in ballot boxes across Americaâall of which required radically different tacticsâas well as how the movement was eventually able to gain the support of President Obama and win a decisive judicial victory in the Supreme Court that opened the floodgates to gay rights across America. As Solomon writes about these later campaigns in which he had a larger leadership role, the book loses its focus on the individuals who made up the movement, shifting from history to memoir, but Solomon's deep knowledge and passion for the cause is clear throughout. If nothing else, Solomon's narrative serves as a tribute to those who made gay marriage happen and as a manual for how to craft a successful political movement in the future. Agent: Esmond Harmsworth, Zachary Shuster Harmsworth.

October 15, 2014

Solomon (national campaign director, Freedom To Marry) examines how gay marriage became legal in Massachusetts in 2004 and in New York in 2011, and briefly covers support for it within the Obama administration. The book is more of a political science text than a history, giving a behind-the- scenes look at how influence, money, and connections drive the political system at the state level. The author offers the blow-by-blow story of Senate arguments and backroom negotiations. As one might expect from a work on such a controversial subject, the narrative covers not only the intellectual aspects of the political struggle but also offers emotional stories of the acceptance and rejection that led politicians to vote the way they did. The prose style is lean, fast, and to the point, interspersed with engaging psychological analysis. VERDICT Recommended for readers interested in the American political system, or in the history of gay marriage. This would be a strong choice for those who enjoyed the portrayal of American politics but not the spy aspects of George Crile's Charlie Wilson's War.--Jessica Spears, Monroe Coll. Lib., Bronx, NY

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