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A review by katiescho741
And the Band Played On: Politics, People, And the AIDS Epidemic by Randy Shilts
5.0
Heartbreaking, fascinating, and frustrating in equal measures. I found this book after watching the TV show Pose.
We often think of epidemics as things that happen in the 3rd World or in fiction, but there was an epidemic in modern times and this is the book to read if you want to know more about it. Shilts did so much research and investigation for this book but it also reads quite informally and it's not the dense tome you might imagine. I found out that Shilts was tested for HIV while writing this book and he refused to be told the result until he completed it for fear of being labelled as biased...this added an extra dimension to my reading. I wondered why my edition hadn't had any 21st century updates added, but then I found out that it was because Randy Shilts died in 1994.
The book traces the virus from the first time it surfaced in the western world, to the gay clubs and bath houses of San Francisco, and from there we delve into the stories of the people who found out they had it, the people who pushed for more government spending, and the scientists who researched this strange new illness. I had no idea that there was so much fault - I knew the government pretended it didn't exist, but to read about the scientists bickering over who discovered it first and who should take credit, and the greedy managers of the bath houses who refused to be open with their customers about the spread of the disease, was shocking and frustrating. "The Lost Generation" is usually a name given to the men who died in WWI, but there is a generation of gay men who had no chance against this disease who also get that title.
Shilts is very straight up with his language and descriptions, but it never feels vulgar because being straightforward was something severely lacking during the AIDS epidemic. When "AIDspeak" surfaces we get to see how no one official wanted to say "bodily fluids" or "anal intercourse" because of offending sensibilities, and how much of the fault lay with the people who didn't want to upset or offend anyone by telling them what sexual acts to avoid to save their lives.
An excellent book with so much detail and heart.
We often think of epidemics as things that happen in the 3rd World or in fiction, but there was an epidemic in modern times and this is the book to read if you want to know more about it. Shilts did so much research and investigation for this book but it also reads quite informally and it's not the dense tome you might imagine. I found out that Shilts was tested for HIV while writing this book and he refused to be told the result until he completed it for fear of being labelled as biased...this added an extra dimension to my reading. I wondered why my edition hadn't had any 21st century updates added, but then I found out that it was because Randy Shilts died in 1994.
The book traces the virus from the first time it surfaced in the western world, to the gay clubs and bath houses of San Francisco, and from there we delve into the stories of the people who found out they had it, the people who pushed for more government spending, and the scientists who researched this strange new illness. I had no idea that there was so much fault - I knew the government pretended it didn't exist, but to read about the scientists bickering over who discovered it first and who should take credit, and the greedy managers of the bath houses who refused to be open with their customers about the spread of the disease, was shocking and frustrating. "The Lost Generation" is usually a name given to the men who died in WWI, but there is a generation of gay men who had no chance against this disease who also get that title.
Shilts is very straight up with his language and descriptions, but it never feels vulgar because being straightforward was something severely lacking during the AIDS epidemic. When "AIDspeak" surfaces we get to see how no one official wanted to say "bodily fluids" or "anal intercourse" because of offending sensibilities, and how much of the fault lay with the people who didn't want to upset or offend anyone by telling them what sexual acts to avoid to save their lives.
An excellent book with so much detail and heart.