First published in 1974, Patricia Nell Warren's The Front Runner was a breakthrough bestseller about the triumphs and tragedies of a gay Olympic hopeful named Billy Sive. It is an absolute classic so do yourself a favor and run out and get yourself a copy today.At the time of publication in 1974, here's what one reviewer from The St. Louis Post Dispatch had to say about the impact of The Front Runner: "Fascinating ... (Patricia Nell Warren) offers compassionate insight of a viciously persecuted minority ... She overcame my entrenched prejudices so that I was cheering for the Front Runner as he raced for the final tape."
Pretty powerful stuff.
The pic is a scan of my paperback copy of The Front Runner that I picked up in 1991 at Capitol Hill Books for $1.50. That is one seventieslicious cover illustration, isn't it?
