Ambush Magazine

The Official Gay Magazine of the Gulf South™

Book Review

Out For Queer Blood: The Murder of Fernando Rios and the Failure of New Orleans Justice by Clayton Delery

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Out For Queer Blood: The Murder of Fernando Rios and the Failure of New Orleans Justice. Clayton Delery. Exposit, 2017. ISBN: 978-1-4766-6884-0. 220 pages. A year and a half ago I received in my inbox what at first glance appeared to be a spam email. Upon closer inspection the subject line said Rios murder / Ambush article. I opened the message and was astonished at what … [Read more...] about Out For Queer Blood: The Murder of Fernando Rios and the Failure of New Orleans Justice by Clayton Delery

The Pox Lover – An Activist’s Decade in New York and Paris by Anne-Christine d’Adesky

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The Pox Lover is a personal history of the turbulent 1990s in New York City and Paris by a pioneering American AIDS journalist, lesbian activist, and daughter of French-Haitian elites. In an account that is by turns searing, hectic, and funny, Anne-christine d’Adesky remembers “the poxed generation” of AIDS—their lives, their battles, and their determination to find love and … [Read more...] about The Pox Lover – An Activist’s Decade in New York and Paris by Anne-Christine d’Adesky

An Oral History of the New Orleans Ninth Ward by Caroline Gerdes.

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An Oral History of the New Orleans Ninth Ward. Caroline Gerdes. Pelican Publishing Co., 2017. ISBN: 9781455622634. 192 pages. One of the inadvertent legacies of Hurricane Katrina was to give the 9th Ward of New Orleans a certain cultural cache in the national imagination. Prior to the storm, most people had never heard of the neighborhood and it was certainly not on … [Read more...] about An Oral History of the New Orleans Ninth Ward by Caroline Gerdes.

Cityscapes of New Orleans

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Cityscapes of New Orleans.  Richard Campanella.  LSU Press, 2017.  ISBN: 978-0-8071-6833-2.  400 pages. Local Tulane Professor Richard Campanella’s latest offering is especially appropriate given the city of New Orleans is celebrating its 300th birthday. Cityscapes of New Orleans is a collection of 77 previous published articles on a variety of topics ranging from vice … [Read more...] about Cityscapes of New Orleans

The Inheritance of Shame by Peter Gajdics.

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The Inheritance of Shame. Peter Gajdics. Brown Paper Press, 2017. ISBN: 978-1-941932-08-7. 355 pages. $17.99. Unfortunately, a book about surviving conversion therapy is still necessary. Author Peter Gajdics spent six years in a bizarre form of conversion therapy that attempted to “cure” him of his homosexuality. Kept with other patients in a cult-like home in British … [Read more...] about The Inheritance of Shame by Peter Gajdics.

Under the Gaydar

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Party Down December is such a fabulous month filled with lots of holiday cheer, parties and there is always something exciting going on here. Most of my last two weeks were spent out of town in Chicago and Scottsdale which you will read about in the other articles, but I did manage to have a little fun in NOLA so let’s get this party started. I normally hit up all the tree … [Read more...] about Under the Gaydar

Handbook of LGBT Tourism and Hospitality: A Guide for Business Practice.

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Handbook of LGBT Tourism and Hospitality: A Guide for Business Practice. Jeff Guaracino and Ed Salvato. Harrington Park Press. ISBN: 9781939594181. 2017. 190 pages. $45.00 Handbook of LGBT Tourism and Hospitality is essential reading for not only business owners who want to tap into the LGBT market, but also for LGBT travelers. The book includes sections on the … [Read more...] about Handbook of LGBT Tourism and Hospitality: A Guide for Business Practice.

Bobby Kennedy: A Raging Spirit.

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Bobby Kennedy: A Raging Spirit. Chris Matthews. Simon & Schuster, 2017. ISBN: 978- 1-5011-1186-0. 396 pages.  $28.99. On the night Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated, Bobby Kennedy was giving a campaign speech in Indianapolis to a largely African-American crowd. Upon being notified of King’s death, Kennedy interrupted his speech to break the news. In his … [Read more...] about Bobby Kennedy: A Raging Spirit.

Unveiling the Muse: The Lost History of Gay Carnival in New Orleans

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THE UNTOLD STORY OF A POWERFUL MARDI GRAS TRADITION “In Unveiling the Muse, Howard Philips Smith presents a lively and comprehensive history of New Orleans’s gay Carnival organizations formed in the post–World War II era. In addition, he takes a wider look at the places, people, and non-Carnival annual calendar of events that are allied with it. His use of archival sources, … [Read more...] about Unveiling the Muse: The Lost History of Gay Carnival in New Orleans