Amazon.com In the first major book on AIDS， San Francisco Chronicle reporter Randy Shilts examines the making of an epidemic. Shilts researched and reported the book exhaustively， chronicling almost day-by-day the first five years of AIDS. His work is critical of the medical and scientific communities' initial response and particularly harsh on the Reagan Administration， who he claims cut funding， ignored calls for action and deliberately misled Congress. Shilts doesn't stop there， wondering why more people in the gay community， the mass media and the country at large didn't stand up in anger more quickly. The AIDS pandemic is one of the most striking developments of the late 20th century and this is the definitive story of its beginnings. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. From Publishers Weekly "An exhaustive account of the early years of the AIDS crisis， this outlines the medical， social and political forces behind the epidemic's origin and rapid spread，" reported PW . "The book stands as a definitive reminder of the shameful injustice inflicted on this nation by the institutions in which we put our trust . . . a landmark work." 200，000 first printing; author tour. Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information， Inc. See all Editorial Reviews