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

Publisher Marketing: By the time Rock Hudson's death in 1985 alerted all America to the danger of the AIDS epidemic, the disease had spread across the nation, killing thousands of people and emerging as the greatest health crisis of the 20th century. America faced a troubling question: What happened? How was this epidemic allowed to spread so far before it was taken seriously?In answering these questions, Shilts weaves the disparate threads into a coherent story, pinning down every evasion and contradiction at the highest levels of the medical, political, and media establishments. Shilts shows that the epidemic spread wildly because the federal government put budget ahead of the nation's welfare; health authorities placed political expediency before the public health; and scientists were often more concerned with international prestige than saving lives. Against this backdrop, Shilts tells the heroic stories of individuals in science and politics, public health and the gay community, who struggled to alert the nation to the enormity of the danger it faced. "And the Band Played On" is both a tribute to these heroic people and a stinging indictment of the institutions that failed the nation so badly. Review Citations: Wilson Public Library Catalog 01/01/1998 pg. 190 (EAN 9780140232219, Paperback) Wilson Senior High Core Col 01/01/1997 pg. 110 (EAN 9780140113693, Paperback) Publishers Weekly 08/12/1988 (EAN 9780140113693, Paperback) Wilson Senior High Core Col 01/01/2002 pg. 108 (EAN 9780312241353, Paperback) Wilson Public Library Catalog 01/01/2004 pg. 196 (EAN 9780312241353, Paperback) Wilson Senior High Core Col 01/01/2007 pg. 147 (EAN 9780312241353, Paperback) - *Starred Review Wilson Public Library Catalog 12/31/2008 pg. 271 (EAN 9780312241353, Paperback) Library Journal 01/01/1994 (EAN 9780671671433, Analog Audio Cassette) Wilson Public Library Catalog 01/01/1993 pg. 195 (EAN 9780312009946, Hardcover) Wilson Senior High Core Col 01/01/1992 pg. 116 (EAN 9780312009946, Hardcover) Library Journal 11/15/1987 (EAN 9780312009946, Hardcover) Publishers Weekly 09/11/1987 (EAN 9780312009946, Hardcover) School Library Journal 04/01/1988 (EAN 9780312009946, Hardcover) Contributor Bio:  Shilts, Randy Randy Shilts was born in 1951, in Davenport, Iowa. One of the first openly gay journalists hired at a major newspaper, he worked for the "San Francisco Chronicle "for thirteen years. He died of AIDS in 1994 at his home in the Sonoma County redwoods in California. He was the author of "The Mayor of Castro Street: The Life and Times of Harvey Milk" (1982), A"nd the Band Played On: Politics, People and the AIDS Epidemic" (1987), and "Conduct Unbecoming: Lesbians and Gays in the U. S. Military" (1993). He also wrote extensively for many major newspapers and magazines, including "The New York Times, Newsweek, Esquire, The Los Angeles Times", and "The Advocate". "And the Band Played On" was made into a docudrama that was broadcast on HBO in 1993. Contributor Bio:  Bevine, Victor For over thirty years, Victor Bevine has worked as an actor, screenwriter, audio book narrator, director, and more. A graduate of Yale University, his acting credits include many prestigious roles onstage as well as roles in the film version of A Separate Peace and countless television shows. He has read over one hundred and eighty titles as an audiobook narrator; in 2010, he received an Audiophone Award for his narration of the Pulitzer Prize winning book The Beak of the Finch. He has written several screenplays, including Certainty, which was chosen for two prestigious writers conferences and which served as the basis for his first novel. His thirty-minute short film Desert Cross, which he wrote and directed, won accolades at the Athens International Film Festival. Currently, he serves as CEO of the World Freerunning Parkour Federation (WFPF), of which he is co-founder. He resides in New York City.