If I were coming out now as trans I'd buy at least a dozen copies to give to close family and friends (and to have if anyone at work wanted to borrow it) in order to give them a base for understanding who I am. If you know someone who is trans, or are even just wondering what is up with all of the news, proposed laws, and concerns in the general and LGBTQ community then this resource is essential. Not only is it written in an engaging and entertaining style, but it is deeply indexed and referenced (there are almost 1400 citations to back up virtually everything she says). While there is intelligence and passion in the writing, it is remarkably informational, even for someone who is already a part of the trans community.
When I started reading it I found that I was looking for scraps to paper to mark pages I wanted to go back to. By the time I'd gotten past the basics at the front of the book I'd dedicated post-it page markers to it. My copy is riddled with them,. Each chapter takes on a major aspect of understanding the trans experience, from medicine to law to politics to religion to the military, as well as just basic informational material for people who are coming into the conversation with no more than an understanding of trans through media representation. Media representation of trans people is a nightmare. There's a chapter describing that as well.
Ms. Tannehill has the precision of a military analyst, which she happens to be. She comes into this as someone who has done tours in active war zones as a Blackhawk pilot. She doesn't really talk about that because this book isn't at all an indulgent self-exploration (which would probably also be interesting). Instead this book is an extremely detailed briefing. She lets you know everything you need to know to fully understand an truly complex topic. She also has the fluid, clever, easy-to-read style of a seasoned writer who you'd expect to have seen in major publications like the New York Times (because she is a seasoned writer who has published there among her many other writing credits).
And now for a sentence that has never been written anywhere, by anyone, ever: "The chapter on Law was so riveting I couldn't put the book down." It was remarkable. It was the clearest, most succinct, most informative discussion of trans legal issues I have ever read, by far. It started with a detailed explanation of the workings of the U.S. court system and moved into levels of scrutiny, about which I was not nearly adequately well-informed, then to precedent that applies to the various circuits through the country down to specific case law. It also got into detailed descriptions of the issues before the court and the challenges trans people might face from SCOTUS, which could deeply change the legal landscape for trans people. The topic itself is a dry yet important one, but her explanation was both thoroughly engaging and remarkably insightful. It's worth buying the book for that chapter alone.
Conceptually, the idea of someone being a gender they weren't assigned at birth is so far removed from the lived experience of most people that it's tough to fully understand that as a reality. This book creates a vital link to doing that. I absolutely believe that it will become the definitive source for helping people understand both the perspective of the transgender community and the challenges they face. It's also an important source for people who find themselves in the grey area around considering transition and not really knowing quite as much about this as they might need to. There aren't a lot of truly objective, detailed informational sources. This is easily the best I've ever seen.
The book is exceptional. Anyone who knows or works with people in the trans community will learn something and find useful information throughout. If you've read this far into a review about it then clearly you have enough of an interest that you'd really benefit from reading it. Buy it. Seriously.
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Reviews with images
THE most important written work about obstacles American Trans people face today.
This is NOT a ‘how-to’ book, a salacious tell-all, a transition diary or a simple primer for those who want to scrape the surface of transgenderism. It IS, however, an extremely-well-researched, citation-laden selection of essays (in chapter form) distilling the political, legal and cultural issues with which transgender people in the U.S. deal every day. For those truly interested in the multiple minefields trans people must navigate simply to exist, this is THE definitive tome on the subject. Ms. Tannehill, a trans woman, retired naval aviator and military scholar, writes with authority, intelligence and clarity. Her prose is academic in style, chosen to communicate great quantities of factual information in the most-efficient possible fashion. That is not to suggest that the book is a difficult read; Ms. Tannehills prose style is at least the equal of her laser-like attention to detail. More specifically, I frequently found myself re-reading passages and pages to extract every nuance of insight this brilliant author has to share. Highly recommended!
Top reviews from other countries
Lisa Mullin Melbourne Australia
Superb, A Must Read
Reviewed in Australia on November 27, 2018Hannah Kruse
Must-read, excellent and probably best book on the topic ever.
Reviewed in Germany on November 27, 2018