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And the Band Played on: Politics, People, and the Aids Epidemic
 
 
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And the Band Played on: Politics, People, and the Aids Epidemic (Paperback)

by Randy Shilts (Author) "Tall sails scraped the deep purple night as rockets burst, flared, and flourished red, white, and blue over the stoic Statue of Liberty ..." (more)
4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
Price: CDN$ 18.95 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over CDN$ 39. Details
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Product Description

From Amazon.com

In the first major book on AIDS, San Francisco Chronicle reporter Randy Shilts examines the making of an epidemic. Shilts researched and reported the book exhaustively, chronicling almost day-by-day the first five years of AIDS. His work is critical of the medical and scientific communities' initial response and particularly harsh on the Reagan Administration, who he claims cut funding, ignored calls for action and deliberately misled Congress. Shilts doesn't stop there, wondering why more people in the gay community, the mass media and the country at large didn't stand up in anger more quickly. The AIDS pandemic is one of the most striking developments of the late 20th century and this is the definitive story of its beginnings. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.


From Publishers Weekly

"An exhaustive account of the early years of the AIDS crisis, this outlines the medical, social and political forces behind the epidemic's origin and rapid spread," reported PW . "The book stands as a definitive reminder of the shameful injustice inflicted on this nation by the institutions in which we put our trust . . . a landmark work." 200,000 first printing; author tour.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Tall sails scraped the deep purple night as rockets burst, flared, and flourished red, white, and blue over the stoic Statue of Liberty. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews

38 Reviews
5 star:
 (29)
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4.7 out of 5 stars (38 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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2.0 out of 5 stars Extremely biased political agenda spoils the book, Jun 21 2004
By A Customer
This review is from: And the Band Played on: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic (School & Library Binding)
This is an engrossing narrative, which unfortunately is completely undermined by the author's shrill political carping. Before you read this book, you should understand that Mr. Shilts was an extreme left wing homosexual activist who was infected with AIDS and had a corresponding political agenda to promote. This doesn't make him a bad person or a bad author - but it does call the objectivity of his book into question. Reading this book for entertainment value is one thing, but relying on it for factual history of the AIDS epidemic is like trusting Dick Cheney to write an objective history of the Bush administration.
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5.0 out of 5 stars Powerful & Timeless, Jun 20 2004
By A Customer
I've recently re-read Shilt's outstanding work on this crises and of course, I reflected heavily that this book flourished after the author's demise some ten years ago. It is so powerful and important to remember this book and to keep it alive. Another I recommend is the moving: "God Doesn't Make Trash", by fellow San Francisco author, Barbara Rose Brooker. Good read.
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5.0 out of 5 stars An outstanding work of journalism, April 27 2004
I'm sure most people are familiar with the story but just as very brief background Randy Shilts was a reporter at the epicenter of the AIDS crisis when it first began. When his paper assigned him to cover the story on a regular basis (the only paper in the country to do so), he gained access to an vast wealth of material and a unique perspective-one that for many years went largely unreported by most of the media until the death of Rock Hudson changed everything. Shilts discovered he himself was HIV positive after he finished the book; he had asked his doctor not to reveal the test results to him until then. He passed way in 1994. His work to alert his own community on the coming health crisis often made him a pariah within it.

This is an amazing history of how the virus took off in America and an insight into why it remained so under-reported for so long. The story involves some very brave patients, some very irresponsible ones, incredibly dedicated medical professionals, major bungling by our government and the blood industry-some of it intentional and some paths paved with good intentions, and the mixed, frustrating reaction of the gay community itself. Shilts doesn't write completely without bias-he calls the decision of the CDC to release patient names to an NYC bloodbank "incredibly stupid" but who wouldn't agree with him on that point? Also, Shilt's fury at certain members of the Reagan administration and Reagan himself is palpable. Once again though, who wouldn't agree with him once the story has been unfolded. His anger is not limited just to the government nor is this just an anti-Republican screed-he praises Orrin Hatch and Everett Koop while bitterly recalling the inaction of Ed Koch's administration in New York. Gay leaders also are not always portrayed in a flattering light. For all of that though, Shilts struggles to be fair and largely is successful.

This book may look daunting, both because of it's subject matter and it's length (clocking in around 600 pages.) However it is incredibly worth your time and written so well that you'll make surprisingly short work of it. Even if you aren't interested in AIDS per se, the story of how our government responded to this crisis (or, rather, largely failed to) should and will frighten you. An incredible call to action and snapshot of a moment in time and place that might otherwise have been forgotten. And that would be a tragedy.

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 		 Most recent customer reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Took a while, but a stellar read!!
And the Band Played On was a great book, but surely not of the category for "books that you love". Chapter to chapter, page to page, it carried sadness after sadness, tragedy... Read more
Published on April 2 2004

5.0 out of 5 stars Helping ourselves to death
Shilts writes like a dying man with nothing to lose, which is refreshing. There is so much fakery about this disease. Read more
Published on Mar 2 2004

5.0 out of 5 stars A Powerful, Important, Book
Some books should be read to be enjoyed. Others are educational, teaching us valuble lessons in life. Read more
Published on Dec 26 2003 by andrewjack

5.0 out of 5 stars Emotional whiplash
This book is absolutely heart-rending. The emotions one experiences reading through this documentation of the first responses to the AIDS virus are numerous, and as different as... Read more
Published on Oct 16 2003 by Grete Brewerbakken

5.0 out of 5 stars This Book Encouraged me to Ride My Bike 350 Miles
I read this book several years ago, and the effect of that reading is still making an impact on my life. Read more
Published on Mar 31 2003

5.0 out of 5 stars A Realistically Scary View of the Evolution of AIDS
After studying media surrounding AIDS and its evolution as an epedemic of the 1980's-1990's, "And the Band Played On" comes closest to the reality of AIDS and the politics of... Read more
Published on Mar 10 2003 by D. Alepin

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderfully written history lesson
To me, this is one of the best books of non-fiction ever written. Most people who would read this will be haunted by the dates of the emerging HIV/AIDS epidemic, remembering where... Read more
Published on Mar 9 2003 by MDMike

5.0 out of 5 stars Shilts was there and he wrote about it as a true reporter
Randy Shilts could have taken the easy way out. He could have blamed Reagan (he did not, no matter what the reviews said) he could have blamed the CDC (he did not, though he took... Read more
Published on Feb 22 2003 by person

5.0 out of 5 stars The true story of the AIDS epidemic
If you're seeking a history of AIDS and how it became a worldwide plague, written in exhaustive detail as a chronology on a almost day-by-day basis, look no further than And The... Read more
Published on Feb 10 2003 by onlyInSF

4.0 out of 5 stars Horrifying portrait of lowpoint in global history.
Randy Shilts, who has since passed from this disease, wrote what has to be the most difinitive account of the genesis and proliferation of the AIDS epidemic. Read more
Published on Jan 8 2003 by C. K. Ogi

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