The most famous transsexual before the term came into use, Christine Jorgensen caused a sensation in the 1950s when newspapers headlined her as the "Sex-Change Freak." She would now be treated very differently, and the hook in Docter's thought-provoking, smoothly written biography is its portrayal of troubled young George, who struggled to accept what he first thought was his homosexuality and, later, gender identity issues (another term then unknown). So intent was he on denying attraction to men and suppressing "perplexing thoughts" that he presented himself "as a far more typical young man than he ever acknowledged to himself." After 30 months of surgery and hormone treatments in Denmark, "Ex-GI Becomes Blonde Beauty," the New York Daily News screamed on December 1, 1952. Pioneers, for that is what 26-year-old Jorgensen was, by definition descry no easy paths and must forge them. Nowadays, former NBA superstar Dennis Rodman can ride his motorcycle to a book signing while wearing a stunning wedding gown. A thoroughly understandable, believable retelling of a once-extraordinary story. | Becoming a Woman by Richard Docter F, Paperback | Indigo Chapters