AIDS in the Mind of America

by Dennis Altman (Editor)

Examines the political aspects of the AIDS epidemic, discusses press coverage of the disease, and analyzes public hysteria concerning AIDS and its victims

Genres: LGBT, Nonfiction, History

240 pages, Paperback

First published December 17, 1985

About the author

Dennis Altman is a Professorial Fellow in Human Security at La Trobe University, Melbourne, and was Visiting Professor of Australian Studies at Harvard.

He has written eleven books exploring sexuality and politics, and their inter-relationship in Australia, the United States, and now globally. These include The Homosexualization of America, AIDS and the New Puritanism, Rehearsals for Change, The Comfort of Men (a novel), and his memoir Defying Gravity. His book Global Sex (Chicago University Press) has been translated into five languages. Most recently he published Gore Vidal’s America (Polity), 51st State? (Scribe)and The End of the Homosexual? (UQP).

In 2008, Altman was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia.

Reviews

[Robert Moscaliuc · Rating 4 out of 5]

The perfect choice for those who want to have a good idea about the AIDS crisis during the American 1980s. It discusses the crisis from a wide range of perspectives that go from political issues, healthcare, social issues, and metaphorical uses of the disease in the discourse of the 80s. What is interesting about it is that it tells the story of the crisis while it was happening and when it was still not very clear what people were dealing with. It is also a quick read, and it is very much like Susan Sontag's long essay AIDS and Its Metaphors.