Description: The national bestseller is now a major HBO TV movie, with stars including Alan Alda, Richard Gere, Lily Tomlin and Angelica Houston. "A heroic work of journalism on what must rank as one of the foremost catastrophes of modern history" (New York Times), this extraordinary book reveals how the federal government put budget considerations ahead of the nation's welfare. (Penguin)
Brief description: 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), And 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.
Review Quotes:
"Shilts successfully weaves comprehensive investigative reporting and commercial page-turning pacing, political intrigue, and personal tragedy into a landmark book . . . Its importance cannot be overstated." --Publishers Weekly
"A monumental history." --The Washington Post Book World "The most thorough, comprehensive exploration of the AIDS epidemic to date . . . It is fascinating, frightening, and essential reading." --San Francisco Sentinel "Rivals in power and intensity, and in the brilliance of its reporting and writing, Truman Capote's In Cold Blood." --The Boston Globe "A heroic work of journalism." --The New York Times