And the Band Played On : Politics, People and the AIDS Epidemic

A masterpiece of investigative reporting, And the Band Played On is the definitive history of the spread of AIDS throughout the USA in the 1980's. Randy Shilts was employed by the 'The San Francisco Chronicle' to cover gay issues in 1981, the year AIDS came to international attention, and from 1982 Shilts devoted himself to covering the story of the disease and its medical, social and political implications. Shilts asks: how was this epidemic allowed to spread so far before it was taken seriously? Extensively researched, weaving together the personal stories of those in the gay community and the medical and political establishments with political and social reporting, he exposes how AIDS was ignored, or denied, as a threat by many national institutions. And the Band Played On shows that the greatest health crisis of the twentieth-century spread wildly as the Federal government put its budget ahead of public health while scientists were often more concerned with maintaining their prestige than saving lives. In 1981, the year when AIDS came to international attention, Randy Shilts was employed by the San Francisco Chronicle as the first openly gay journalist dealing with gay issues. He quickly devoted himself to reporting on the developing epidemic, trying to understand the cultural, medical and political impact of the disease on the gay community and United States society as a whole. Extensively researched, weaving together personal stories with political and social reporting, And the Band Played On is a masterpiece of investigative reporting that led to Randy Shilts being described as "the pre-eminent chronicler of gay life" by The New York Times . Shilts exposed why AIDS was allowed to spread - while the medical and political authorities ignored (and even denied) the threat. It was awarded the Stonewall Book Award, became an international bestseller translated into 7 languages, and was made into a major movie in 1993 starring Richard Gere and Sir Ian McKellen. And the Band Played On is one of the great works of contemporary journalism, and provides the foundation for the continuing debate about the greatest medical epidemic faced in our time. The blueprint of 20th century investigative journalism. Tracing the course of HIV/AIDS through society; from its earliest as then unknown incarnation, to the height of this 1980s hysteria – the death of Rock Hudson: Shilts's book should be in every High School's final academic examinations coursework reading list, as a compulsory item. An unregrettable read.