Vikas Adam narrates the story of the fight against AIDS in the U.S. with the urgency the topic demands. As he recounts the early stages of the epidemic, when doctors were unable to connect the victims to each other or to find a way to treat the illness as the death count inexorably rose, his voice reflects the dire situation that PWAs (Persons With Aids) found themselves in. Listeners unfamiliar with these events will be fascinated by the search for treatment and sympathetic with PWAs’ frustration with the lack of support from the government and the church. Their horror is reflected in Adam’s voice as they are denied research funding for years. At that time, HIV/AIDS was seen as a gay man’s disease, even as it spread to larger populations. E.J.F. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine

05/13/2019

Bausum (The March Against Fear) commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots with this powerful history of AIDS in America, from its first appearance in the U.S. to the present. The 1970s sexual revolution may have liberated many gay men from living closeted lives, especially in cities, but sexually transmitted infections remained pervasive, condom use rare, and discrimination against homosexuality widespread. The volume shows how the U.S. government’s failure to provide adequate early funding for HIV- and AIDS-related care, education, and research contributed to the epidemic as annual deaths from AIDS soared from 130 in 1981 to over 37,000 a decade later. Interweaving stories of individuals, activism, and medical research, Bausum illuminates the epidemic’s tragic scale as well as the effort required to survive an HIV-positive diagnosis—despite continuing medical advances, some American groups retain the world’s highest risk of infection. Bausum writes with frank clarity, humanizing the urgent, ongoing crisis with great sensitivity. Photographs, a summary of key events, and additional resources close this moving, essential account. Ages 12–up. (June) Correction: A previous version of this review misstated the author's name in one line.

★ 05/01/2019

Gr 9 Up—Following Stonewall: Breaking Out in the Fight for Gay Rights, Bausum chronicles another chapter in queer history: the HIV/AIDS crisis. Her three-part investigation begins before the epidemic, describing scenes of queer liberation in the wake of the 1969 Stonewall Riots. The "hedonistic crescendo" of the 1970s brought bathhouses, dance clubs, drugs, disco music, and free love. For gay men, the sexual freedom also introduced a mystery disease. Initially diagnosed as Kaposi's sarcoma (KS)—a slow-progressing cancer—the disease shook the queer community and beyond when it began to rapidly spread. Activist organizations like ACT UP and its predecessors pushed the Center for Disease Control and multiple presidential administrations to research an affordable cure, arguing that "SILENCE = DEATH." Bausum details the revolution while honoring some of the hundreds of thousands of lives lost. Expertly interweaving quotes from a variety of firsthand sources (medical professionals, writers, activists, etc.), Bausum's precise journalism takes on an engaging narrative quality. Occasional black-and-white photographs or images highlight key figures. Though her focus, like history's, tends to prioritize the white gay male experience, Bausum adds context to shift the focus onto other marginalized groups (particularly people of color) who were victimized in the HIV/AIDS panic. The structure paves the way for plenty of dramatic tension, resulting in a rousing, sympathetic account of a community's pain, fear, rage, and resiliency. A time line, source notes, and bibliography are appended. VERDICT Well-researched and expertly paced, this compelling title deserves a place in all teen collections.—Alec Chunn, Eugene Public Library, OR

Vikas Adam narrates the story of the fight against AIDS in the U.S. with the urgency the topic demands. As he recounts the early stages of the epidemic, when doctors were unable to connect the victims to each other or to find a way to treat the illness as the death count inexorably rose, his voice reflects the dire situation that PWAs (Persons With Aids) found themselves in. Listeners unfamiliar with these events will be fascinated by the search for treatment and sympathetic with PWAs’ frustration with the lack of support from the government and the church. Their horror is reflected in Adam’s voice as they are denied research funding for years. At that time, HIV/AIDS was seen as a gay man’s disease, even as it spread to larger populations. E.J.F. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine

2019-03-03
From the front lines of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to the front lawn of the White House, how the reaction to an epidemic evolved from mystery and ignorance to knowledge, bravery, and activism.

The 1969 Stonewall uprising lifted a shroud of secrecy from the marginalized LQBTQ community. Suddenly there was empowerment to live more freely, albeit within coastal, cosmopolitan microcosms. Liberation from centuries of closeted lives manifested in a revolution of sexual freedom. A decade later, an unknown malady swept through this liberated landscape, mystifying, terrifying, and baffling insiders and outsiders alike: AIDS. The LGBTQ community was fearful and angry, while a conservative collective was reassured that sexual deviants were deservedly being punished. However, research dissolved rumor, and boundaries clung to by the ignorant were pierced with fact. Bausum's (The March Against Fear, 2017, etc.) journalized account is divided into three sections: 1969-1983, 1983-1992, and 1992-today. The objectivity of her research is colored by the kind of compassion that can only come from having lived through a dark era and fully recognizing the breadth of tragedy. As frustrating and frightening as this political and social timeline is, and susceptible though we all are to this disease, we're also all able to do something that unites rather than separates in a time of tragedy: love. A critical account for today's youth.

Read to remember, remember to fight, fight together. (author's note, timeline, resources, source notes, index) (Nonfiction. 12-18)