Gaylaw is a panoramic exploration of the many issues that are now part of our public discourse about the place of homosexuals in American society. Eskridge is a leading "gaylegal" scholar, and this book is a thoughtful, insightful analysis not only of the country's changing mind-set about regulating same-sex attraction, but also of the constitutional bases for protecting sexual intimacy from state intrusion. He draws on many sources, and more than one-quarter of the book comprises supporting appendixes and endnotes. He has assembled comprehensive tables of statutory enactments and statistics about criminal arrests, military discharges, and other governmental enforcement efforts...Eskridge's book is a valuable contribution to the dialogue on this and a host of other questions our society will grapple with as the closet crumples and gay people press for equal standing in the eyes of the law. (Patrick McGlone Legal Times)

What Eskridge reveals in this monumental book is that the law has more often than not been used against gays and lesbians, as well as against all individuals who do not meet the moral ideals of the controlling puritanical mainstream...[His] text is replete with references to Mary MacIntosh, Michel Foucault, and Eve Sedgwick--not your average legal citations. Eskridge is at his best when he is engaged in legal analysis. His arguments are fine tuned, and his legislative history is thorough...The law does not exist in a vacuum; it rides the current of history and public policy. Gaylaw captures that ride. Eskridge provides a blueprint for possible arguments that may secure rights for gays and lesbians. Time and the whims of the courts will tell whether such arguments are persuasive. Certainly there are few other histories of 'gay rights' that are as complete and thorough as Gaylaw. (Romilda Crocamo Lesbian Review of Books)

Eskridge provides an exhaustive account of the evolution of 20th-century American law as it pertained to gay people...[His] overriding purpose is to document a case for continued reforming of law, in the spirit of true liberalism, and to extend true equality to homosexuals. This landmark work belongs in all libraries. (D. Q. Friedrichs Choice)

Eskridge provides an exhaustive chronicle of legal constraints upon sexual orientation and gender status...A prominent goal of the author's work is to develop a political and legal response to the judiciary's rejection of full rights of privacy, equality, and free speech under constitutional guidelines. Eskridge closes by vehemently arguing for the recognition of gays in families, employment, and religion. (Michael A. Lutes Library Journal)

William N. Eskridge, Jr. is Professor of Law at Yale Law School.