Nathaniel Frank at Books Inc. in the Castro March 10, 2009

Author Nathaniel Frank will be stopping by to read from his new and anticipated book, "Unfriendly Fire: How the Gay Ban Undermines the Military and Weakens America."

When the "don't ask, don't tell" policy emerged as a political compromise under Bill Clinton in 1993, it only ended up worsening the destructive gay ban that had been on the books since World War II. Drawing on more than a decade of research and hundreds of interviews, Nathaniel Frank exposes the military's policy toward gays and lesbians as damaging and demonstrates that "don't ask, don't tell" must be replaced with an outright reversal of the gay ban.

Frank is one of the nation's leading experts on gays in the military, and in his evenhanded and always scrupulously documented chronicle, he reveals how the ban on open gays and lesbians in the U.S. military has greatly increased discharges, hampered recruitment, and--contrary to the rationale offered by proponents of the ban--led to lower morale and cohesion within military ranks. Frank does not shy away from tackling controversial issues, and he presents indisputable evidence showing that gays already serve openly without causing problems, and that the policy itself is weakening the military it was supposed to protect. In addition to the moral pitfalls of the gay ban, Frank shows the practical damage it has wrought. Most recently, the discharge of valuable Arabic translators (who happen to be gay) under the current policy has left U.S. forces ill-equipped in the fight against terrorism.

Part history, part expose, and fully revealing, "Unfriendly Fire" is poised to become the definitive story of "don't ask, don't tell." This lively and compelling narrative is sure to make the blood boil of any American who cares about national security, the right to speak the truth, or just plain common sense and fairness.

About the author:

Nathaniel Frank is author of the forthcoming book, "Unfriendly Fire: How the Gay Ban Undermines the Military and Weakens America," to be published by St. Martin's Press in March. He is senior research fellow at the Palm Center at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and teaches history on the adjunct faculty at New York University's Gallatin School. Dr. Frank's publications on gay rights and other topics have appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, The New Republic, Los Angeles Times, Newsday, Philadelphia Inquirer, Lingua Franca and others. He has been interviewed for national television and radio programs, including ABC's "Good Morning America," the "CBS Evening News with Dan Rather," CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360," "CBS News on Logo" and MSNBC's "Abrams Report." He has also consulted with ABC's "20/20" and CBS's "60 Minutes." Dr. Frank's research and opinions have been cited on the Congressional floor, in syndicated columns, in the blogosphere, the New York Post, The Advocate, National Review Online, the AP, BBC and other venues, including university syllabi and media roundups. He lives in Brooklyn.

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Books Inc. is a locally owned and operated independent bookseller with 10 locations in California. Books Inc.'s origin dates back to the Gold Rush Days of 1851 when Anton Roman struck it rich in Shasta City, California and set himself up in business selling books. That small bookstore was moved, bought, sold, burned, rebuilt, renamed and became Books Inc., as we know it today, in 1946.

Today, with 10 Stores and 200 employees, Books Inc. serves as a shining example that independent bookselling can survive and prosper, even if we must dance among the elephants.

This Event is Free at Books Inc. 2275 Market St., San Francisco 94114
For Questions: 415.864.6777 or on the web at http://www.booksinc.net and
http://www.myspace.com/booksinccastro

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