"Fieseler chronicles the ... event that claimed the lives of thirty-one men and one woman on June 24, 1973, at a New Orleans bar, the largest mass murder of gays until 2016. Relying on ... access to survivors and archives, Fieseler creates [a] ... portrait of a closeted, blue-collar gay world that flourished before an arsonist ignited an inferno that destroyed an entire community"--Amazon.com.

The Up Stairs Lounge tragedy has only recently emerged as a catalyzing event of the gay liberation movement. Fieseler chronicles the tragic event that claimed the lives of 31 men and one woman on June 24, 1973, at a New Orleans bar, the largest mass murder of gays until 2016. Relying on unprecedented access to survivors and archives, Fieseler creates an indelible portrait of a closeted, blue-collar gay world that flourished before an arsonist ignited an inferno that destroyed an entire community.