I lived in Boston when Massachusetts passed marriage equality in 2004. Over the nearly two-decades since then I've watched the campaigns spread and become the norm. This book shows its history. But as the country divides, this might also be a tool for the future.

I lived this history. I was a part of this fight. I have experienced the sadness of being cast aside and the joys of reaching a victory. Even through all of these things, when reading this book I became excited all over again, cheering on the fight for equality.

There are many ways a book like this could have been written and I believe that this author found the perfect way to explain the history of the fight to every reader, whether they followed each case or have decided to learn something new. Those who want to read this book because they want to relive the history won't be disappointed with the experience and will most likely be swept up in the excitement again, like I was.

To anyone who knows someone who is on the fence about marriage equality, I say rush out and get that person a copy of this book because it so perfectly touches the heart of what this struggle is about without being pushy, overpowering or full of lecture. Within these pages you experience the FEELING of what a fight for equality is more than the FORCE of having a decision pushed on to you. Oh, don't get me wrong, there are plenty of stories about encouraging people to change their minds about marriage equality, but they are certainly not phrased in such a way to shame the reader or force their point of view. If anything these stories will help those who want to understand reach that understanding through heartfelt interactions and touching narratives.

Living in the south, I can tell you this wasn't an easy book to carry around. I encountered several less-than-happy strangers who didn't outright confront me about having the book in my hand, but who did find ways to treat me differently once they noticed it. I won't say that this book will change everyone, but it is certainly a leap in the right direction.

My only complaint when I reached the end was that my own situation (and the situation of so many others) was little more than an afterthought when talking about marriage equality. Though this book was about marriage and not immigration, I felt that the immigration aspect was severely neglected. I could not even begin to describe to you the experience of living in an international household for ten years through this fight, waiting and desperate to unite our family that was divided by an ocean. I can not describe the feeling of watching a human being no different than myself be detained in immigration every time we traveled as a family, having to wait in worry while who knew what kind of questioning was going on behind closed doors. So many lives were changed when equality became a national reality and I was very severely hurt by this situation being included as a one or two line mention toward the end of a beautifully written history.

Even though my family seems to have been unimportant the way this history is written, I plan on suggesting this book to everyone I know, to pass it around and spread some of the understanding that is so desperately missing when it comes to this struggle above others. I can not express the importance of this book enough, nor can I properly do the writing justice by writing more here. Read this book. Pass it along to everyone you know. Change the hearts and minds of others one page at a time. Let's keep this winning streak going and let us never forget those who helped us to get where we are today. ( )

Dear opponents of same-sex marriage: do not read this book.

You may think that reading "Winning Marriage," Marc Solomon's highly accessible account of the marriage equality fight, will teach you how to counter the work of Freedom to Marry, GLAD, HRC and other groups.

You may feel that getting acquainted with some of the pro-equality side's most important figures -- including Evan Wolfson, Mary Bonauto, Edie Windsor, and Solomon himself -- will give you insights on how to neutralize them.

You may theorize that learning the nitty-gritty details behind the legislative maneuvering, the strategizing, the fundraising, and the heart-to-heart conversations will let you figure out where you went awry in Massachusetts, New York, California and the other states covered here.

You may even imagine that, after finishing Solomon's account, that you will be fully equipped to take on the courts, the states, and public opinion in turning back the clock and reinstating bans in all 37 states where same-sex marriage is currently legal.

You would be wrong. If anything, you will probably be inspired to take on a different cause rather than continue to face Solomon, his colleagues, and all the new activists this book will create.

However, if you don't believe me (admittedly, as a married lesbian from Massachusetts, I'm extremely biased), read it for yourself. But don't say I didn't warn you! ( )

I enjoyed this book as a slightly new perspective on the movement towards legalized same-sex marriage in the United States. Most of what I've read before has focused on the judicial aspect of the topic: court opinions and arguments, constitutionality, etc. This is understandable given that much of the progress has been made in the courts acting either 'ahead of' legislative action, or in reaction to challenges to either state laws or consitutional amendments or their repeal. But this book has a fairly solid focus on the actual political campaigning behind progress on the issue, whether it is direct to voters who are voting on a state-wide referendum or amendment, in electing state or federal representatives or senators, the lobbying thereof, or even winning the opinions of the executive branch or bringing public opinion around to let the Supreme Court know that they aren't 'getting to far out in front'. All of these issues are addressed in different chapters with specific campaigns, so it didn't read as if it were a series of repeating campaign strategy blogs.

Mark Solomon provides a first-person view of the saga of gay marriage in America, starting from the passage of equal marriage in Massachusetts to the repeal of DOMA. I couldn't put this book down - Solomon was a part of the fight from the start and he describes in detail every person from both side, the campaigns, the politics, and the relationships that were affected by each law and repeal. Absolutely inspirational, a testament to how passionate people can change the world for the better. A must read for anyone interested in LGBTQ rights. ( )