The Accidental Activist: A Personal and Political Memoir

For years Newt Gingrich denounced gay rights as anti-''family values.'' Then, in early 1995, his younger sister Candace admitted she was a lesbian on Eye to Eye With Connie Chung. In the blaze of publicity that followed, the articulate and unassuming 28-year-old left her job at UPS and became the nation's most sought-after gay rights spokeswoman. With the help of former Advocate correspondent Chris Bull, Gingrich engagingly traces her sexual awakening (her conservative Republican parents were supportive), as well as the story of her political involvement in The Accidental Activist: A Personal and Political Memoir. Those looking for much original insight — or dirt — on Newt will be disappointed; the half generation between them has resulted in a fairly remote relationship. Candace does make clear that ''on a personal level, Newt has always been nonjudgmental.'' This is really the story of a young woman coming out of the closet — and out of the shadow of her famous older brother. B