And the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic
by Randy Shilts
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Read in December, 2007
If you're seeking a comprehensive history of the AIDS epidemic, look no further. Written as a detective story, this must read book covers all aspects of the disease, from history, to journalism, to politics, to people. Randy Shilts, in his thorough investigative report, highlights the many blunders along the way, blunders that are unbelievable in retrospect. It is not an anti-Republican rant, rather it is a very fair assessment of the collective failure of all entities involved. Because the ...more
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It had been a long time since I'd attempted such a LARGE book. At 605 pages, it was probably the longest book I'd read in years. I have to say though, I'm very glad I forced myself to do it and think I'm better person for having read it. The book was fascinating to me. I was a small child in the early eighties so I have no recollection of a time before everyone knew what AIDS was and how it was transmitted. And although equality for gays and lesbians has not been achieved, I cannot really ima...more
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I had read about AIDS in the newspapers and news magazines. I had many gay friends and a toddler son. But the epidemic, while it seemed very scary, still seemed a crisis distant from me and my son and my friends--that illusion was quickly swept aside. But, really, I knew nothing about AIDS, its origins, science, and epidemiology. I only knew there would never be enough funding, especially under the Reagan government. But the possibility of a vaccine or a cure still seemed hopeful.
Alth...more
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Read in July, 2005
recommends it for:
Everyone
This book changed my life in the most literal sense imaginable. And The Band Played On forced me to become an practicing feminist and advocate for sexual and, far more importantly, global health.
I read Randy Shilts tome for a Sociology of HIV/AIDS course at University of Toronto in the summer of 2005, arguably one of the most popular and most difficult courses to get into...more
I read Randy Shilts tome for a Sociology of HIV/AIDS course at University of Toronto in the summer of 2005, arguably one of the most popular and most difficult courses to get into...more
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From the start of the AIDS crisis, before it even had a name -- and, therefore, an identity -- it was linked to homosexuals.That's perhaps the greatest tragedy, because it gave the heterosexual majority the opportunity to feel secure from the threat and to treat those who became infected as victims of bad and dangerous choices. That kind of attitude led to a smug and superior approach to homosexuals that prevailed until Rock Hudson's infection became public. One can only wonder how many lives mi...more
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Having been born in 1982, AIDS has always existed in my world. But I had no idea what a colossal mess was made in the wake of its birth. Not including a few, well-meaning and hard-working individuals who knew something was horribly wrong and tried so hard to stop it, everybody involved screwed this up: politicians, the media, scientists, the blood banks, the general public, and even the gay community itself, within which the disease struck first. Randy Shilts spares no one. As the first reporter...more
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Read in November, 2007
recommends it for:
Everyone!
Holy cow, what an awesome, awesome, book. Randy Shilts chronicles the AIDS epidemic from its beginnings in Africa, Europe, and its entry to the U.S. in 1976, through 1988 when it had exploded into the world. Shilts was a reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle, and this book is a seamless compilation of all of the articles he wrote throughout the AIDS epidemic. Through this story, you get a glimpse of just how badly we as a country screwed up, resulting in the AIDS epidemic we have today. There...more
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Read in January, 1999
The horrifying story of America's response to the early days of AIDS. The tragedy brought out the worst in us as everyone involved, from the Centers for Disease Control to gay rights groups and many others in between, hampered America's response to a growing AIDS epidemic. I often wanted to stop reading and scream, "WHY DIDN'T ANY OF YOU DO ANYTHING?! PEOPLE WERE DYING!" While often brutal and hearbreaking, this book also has moments that are inspiring and show people's strength in th...more
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Read in March, 1994
I recall from looking over my journal from back then that this book was extremely engaging. It made me angry at times. I wrote more in my journal, but I will keep it there. I did note that I enjoyed the book, which I found to be very well documented. Also it felt like reading fiction in a way I could not quite describe. Don't get me wrong though; I was fully aware this was real. This was what kept my sense of anger and outrage inflamed. Let's just say the U.S. does not come out looking good in t...more
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Read in June, 2002
this book broke my heart, and make me furiously angry. A non-fiction account of the beginnings of the AIDS crisis in the U.S. It's horrible to realize how easily it could have been stopped if just a couple of events had gone slightly differently, and it's frustrating to see how competition instead of cooperation kept effective drugs (AZT) off the market for several years, causing countless deaths. Infuriating to see Pres. Reagan ignoring reality - he wouldn't even say the word "AIDS"...more
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Read in May, 2008
This is the kind of book where you keep reading parts aloud to people around you (yeah, sorry about that guys) whether they seem interested or not. It is not that it's particularly well-written, in fact there are a few too many stylistic tics for my taste - "They might have been ready for the big enchilada, but not the combo platter" is perhaps my favorite of these. But holy shit, for someone whose knowledge of the AIDS crisis came solely from "Angels in America," I am glad...more
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Read in February, 2007
This book really read like fiction; unfortunately, it's (mostly) fact. It tells of the early days of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and the steps taken by the many parties involved which allowed AIDS to become such a problem in America. While some of the characters in the book have had their stories recreated by the author (especially Gaetan Dugas, the Quebecois flight attendant who was considered Patient O), the majority of the book is fact. I would definitely recommend it to you if you are intereste...more
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Read in January, 1989
recommends it for:
everybody
This book tells the hard and truth story of AIDS and looks for the answer to the question...Why was this epidemic allowed to spread and take so many lives before anybody started to pay attention?
Randy shows the hard facts of the story. Sometimes I find books with stats and a lot of scientific talk difficult to read but this book was different. It helps that the author actually gets you feel for the people involved and living with this problem.
This book was turned into a movie by the sa...more
Randy shows the hard facts of the story. Sometimes I find books with stats and a lot of scientific talk difficult to read but this book was different. It helps that the author actually gets you feel for the people involved and living with this problem.
This book was turned into a movie by the sa...more
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I am currently reading this because:
1. It's been on my shelf for over five years and it's giant and, goddamn, I hate seeing a giant book on my shelf that's been awaiting me for so long.
2. It was referenced in an article I read about something else beginning on the bicentennial.
3. My roommate and I have this thing where we talk a lot about epidemics and pandemics and how they relate to society and its development. Bear in mind this is generally sandwiched in between talks of our favorite episo...more
1. It's been on my shelf for over five years and it's giant and, goddamn, I hate seeing a giant book on my shelf that's been awaiting me for so long.
2. It was referenced in an article I read about something else beginning on the bicentennial.
3. My roommate and I have this thing where we talk a lot about epidemics and pandemics and how they relate to society and its development. Bear in mind this is generally sandwiched in between talks of our favorite episo...more
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recommends it for:
people interested in deadly diseases
A journalist's rehash of the spread of AIDS among gay Americans in the early 1980s. You don't need to have AIDS/HIV or any disease at all to be intrigued by "And The Band Played On." Basically it's the story of a clash between civil rights and disease control. The players include San Francisco health officials, epidemiologists, and gay activists. All struggled with the threat presented by a new disease that was poorly understood yet politically charged. There are stories of courag...more
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Read in January, 1993
My 14-year-old daughter just finished reading this book about the early days of the AIDS crisis, from the days when it was called GRID (Gay Related Immune Deficiency)and largely ignored by everyone but a few "hysterics," to the day in 1985 when Rock Hudson came out as an AIDS patient, thereby legitimizing the disease. Even Nancy Reagan couldn't ignore it when it struck Rock! I read this book long ago; it was very interesting to see my daughter's reaction to the homophobia and margina...more
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I was in San Francisco the summer that the orange "GRID" posters went up in the Castro. I was working in suburban Chicago hospitals when "respectable" families started finding their loved ones dying "shameful" deaths. In microcosm, I saw what the book describes in macrocosm. Mistrust, denial, bigotry, egotism, and deceit played against a backdrop of human pain, misery and mortality. Thankfully, the AIDS crisis, while still very real, is not what it once was. That do...more
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This is a MUST-READ!!! I picked this book up on a random suggestion from a friend, knowing nearly nothing about the history of the AIDS epidemic in the United States. In painstaking detail, this book lays out all of the politics, deceptions, lies and incompetence that helped AIDS become the uncontainable disease it is today, with global repercussions. It is far from dry history, and does a great job of mixing personal stories with procedural background. This is the most heavily researched piece ...more
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Read in January, 1987
recommended to Maureen by:
JLPrecommends it for: everyone
I knew people who died of AIDS when it was still being called "the gay disease." This book records the first five years of the AIDS epidemic and is one of those books every young person in America could benefit from when they first decide to start having sex. Randy Shilts is a fine writer, and he has the ability to combine medical studies, statistics, case histories, and personal into a very accessible and readable format. I wish he would write another book about the state of the AI...more
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Read in January, 2008
A devastating book -- the scope, depth, and insight are so powerful and depressing, yet this is a must-read. The missteps and politics of the early response to AIDS is brilliantly outlined, but Shilts' highest achievement -- beyond writing such a strong call to accountability and laying bare exactly how the medical, political, and community establishments could have, should have reacted -- is to portray people in such a caring, incisive light that you stick with them and their struggle for the e...more
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