AIDS – Page 2 – Scott J. Pearson’s Book Review

No Magic Bullet: A Social History of Venereal Disease in the United States Since 1880

By Scott J. Pearson | October 28, 2021October 28, 2021 by Scott J. Pearson

The human response to venereal disease has always had a strongly social component. Not only is there biology involved; other factors also include prostitution, gender dynamics, sexuality, fear, and moralisms. In this work, Brandt identifies all of these impacts and constructs a narrative of how Americans have reacted to this disease since the underlying biology had begun to be unearthed in the late 19th century. He does so meticulously and comprehensively so that no important…

HIV/AIDS Politics Poverty

Race Against Time: Searching for Hope in AIDS-Ravaged Africa

By Scott J. Pearson | October 16, 2021October 16, 2021 by Scott J. Pearson

One of the biggest accolades often put on George W. Bush’s US presidency is addressing the AIDS pandemic in Africa. That required an international effort, and Stephen Lewis, a former Canadian ambassador and UN special envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa, details how that effort fell short on many fronts. He calls out contradictions between the aims and implementation of US policy. In so doing, he exposes how both the US and the UN become embroiled…

Fiction-Stories HIV/AIDS

The Normal Heart by Larry Kramer

By Scott J. Pearson | September 10, 2021September 10, 2021 by Scott J. Pearson

Larry Kramer was an outspoken advocate in the 1980s, the early days of the AIDS epidemic. While many in the gay community were caught up in celebrating hard-fought sexual freedoms, Kramer argued that these freedoms must be curtailed somehow to protect against biological disease. This position, unfortunately, won him scorn from many fellow gays. However, he wrote this award-winning play in 1985 to advocate for his position while shining the light on what it was…

Healthcare History HIV/AIDS

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

By Scott J. Pearson | August 6, 2021August 6, 2021 by Scott J. Pearson

“Those ignorant of history are doomed to repeat it.” “The primary problems we now face are not scientific problems but social problems involving science.” Such statements certainly provide an impetus to read this classic about the early history of AIDS in America. Though this book is over thirty years old, its meticulous research still communicates how human nature often denies diseased persons respect, compassion, and the resources necessary to recover. Such was certainly true in…

Healthcare HIV/AIDS Science

Immunology and the Quest for an HIV Vaccine: A New Perspective

By Scott J. Pearson | April 12, 2021April 12, 2021 by Scott J. Pearson

I usually write lengthier reviews, but I am not a subject-matter expert in immunology. Thus, I do not believe I am qualified to write a critical review of this work. Generally, the authors are skeptical about the current path of HIV vaccine development, and they propose a new direction. I am a member of a community advisory board for an HIV vaccine trial – an activity that led me to read this work. It is…

Biography-Memoir HIV/AIDS

Borrowed Time: An AIDS Memoir

By Scott J. Pearson | April 2, 2021April 2, 2021 by Scott J. Pearson

“What am I going to do without him?”…“Write about him Paul… That’s what you have to do.” In a world before triple-drug therapy (HAART) was enacted and allowed individuals to live a normal lifespan with HIV, Monette and his lover Roger Horwitz contracted HIV, which ineluctably progressed into AIDS. Professionally, Horwitz was a lawyer and a lover of literature; Monette was a writer. Both were educated at Ivy League schools. This work is the first…

Healthcare HIV/AIDS

HIV/AIDS: A Very Short Introduction

By Scott J. Pearson | March 21, 2021March 21, 2021 by Scott J. Pearson

HIV, which can lead to AIDS, continues to present a pandemic situation wherever humans live. It differentially affects marginalized communities and tends to have an associated social stigma. It has hurt people in Africa particularly hard, and Whiteside, a professor in South Africa and a global leader in AIDS health discussions, is well-poised to witness the global effects. In this short and well-written work, he extracts the biomedical, social, political, and economic implications of this…

Healthcare History HIV/AIDS Science Society

The Origins of AIDS

By Scott J. Pearson | March 8, 2021March 20, 2021 by Scott J. Pearson

Understanding the origins of AIDS is important for at least three reasons. First, HIV/AIDS is an important biomedical global disease that is still not conquered. Second, much cultural rhetoric due to stigma exists in society about this disease, and blame for the AIDS pandemic have been wrongfully placed at the feet of many oppressed groups. Third, contemporary events with coronavirus have shown that humans aren’t as safe from disease and pandemic as we might imagine,…