And the Band Played On
Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic
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And the Band Played On
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Narrated by:
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Victor Bevine
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By:
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Randy Shilts
About this listen
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.
As an added bonus, when you purchase our Audible Modern Vanguard production of Randy Shilts' book, you'll also receive an exclusive Jim Atlas interview. This interview – where James Atlas interviews Larry Kramer about the life and work of Randy Shilts – begins as soon as the audiobook ends.
This production is part of our Audible Modern Vanguard line, a collection of important works from groundbreaking authors.©1987 Randy Shilts (P)2009 Audible, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
Critic reviews
" And the Band Played On is about the kind of people we have been for the past seven years. That is its terror, and its strength." ( The New York Times Book Review)
"A heroic work of journalism." ( The New York Times)
What listeners say about And the Band Played On
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- LMR
- 20-05-15
Thought provoking, fascinating listen
Loved this, listened to it twice and may listen again. Fabulously written which kept your interest the entire time. The narration was also fabulous. Highly recommend.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Lee
- 29-01-22
Enjoying it in bite size chunks
This is huge book both in size and the information contained there in and I’ve been listening to it over the course of a few months.
This is an important work as it is about the struggles that were prevalent in the 60/70/80’s against gay and lesbian people. Shockingly the Reagan government refused to acknowledge that there was a killer virus at large at least until heterosexual people began to fall ill.
I watched the documentary surrounding this book and some of the information has since been made defunct around patient zero (0).
Anyway if you want to understand the aids epidemic in the states than this is book to read.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- "geordiemoozy"
- 18-01-16
slightly long...
Fascinating background to the origin of aids in the US. Slightly ranty, and overlooking on some detail, but generally very good stab at an important topic
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 28-01-24
Detailed and highly informative listen
I wanted to learn more about the AIDS crisis after watching a performance of The Normal Heart, and this book ticked all the boxes. It gave a detailed and well structured overview of almost a decade of medical and political history. Five stars ✨
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- Amazon Customer
- 11-10-19
Eye opening
A history of a tragedy, written fiercely and narrated with great skill.
I was born in 1989 so my history of the AIDs crisis is somewhat after the fact. The story of the disease, but more importantly of the people, opened my eyes to a recent history that had passed me by.
The story feels eerily similar to Chernobyl, from the indifference of the government to the bravery of the victims.
The book takes 15 minutes to truly catch fire, but the next 30 hours are sensational.
I cannot recommend strongly enough.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Christine
- 23-07-11
Comprehensive and interesting
Good social history using real life stories as a narrative structure. I was interested in the epidemiology of the disease as it emerged but also learned alot about gay rights in 1980s USA. Astonished at how late blood transfusion was recognised as transmitting virus, found this shocking and a lessen to UK on verge of privatising blood banks. The narrator is fine, no silly voices or over-acting. Highly recomended.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kim GG
- 26-07-22
Heartbreaking account of the loss of youth
gripped from the moment I began, the performance holds you enthralled.
so good to hear the hard truths
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Paraig McGovern
- 08-03-16
Brilliant
A real eye opener funny in places heart breaking in others. I had no idea how awful AIDS really was this gives some idea of the suffering but the real tragedy was the response of different groups,; government, health care, the gay community everyone.
Well worth a read
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Richard
- 07-11-11
A great piece of Journalism. Superb
I have quite a collection of books downloaded now from Audible and this is certainly one of, if not, my favourite listen so far. Its not an easy listen by any means, as it details the early days of the AIDS epidemic. Randy Shilts covers the story from every angle to the point where it reads like a detective novel. Everyone is a player in the grand scheme from the scientist, politicians, business owners and the gay community itself. The human story is told throughout too and its saddening to hear key players contracting the disease. The social history was a reminder of my own past.
As an audio book I have to point out that the 126 hour running length is a typo mistake and its actually "only" 26 hours. Personally, I found the story flew by. Also, I have to highly praise the narrator for a brilliant job. As an English listener I tend to find American readers a bit distracting but Victor Bevine read it beautifully.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Joanne G.
- 21-07-15
The Story of AIDS in America
What did you like most about And the Band Played On?
This story will make you cry and be furious mostly at the same time. In telling the story of the spread of AIDS in America, Randy Shilts exposes the denial at the heart of the AIDS epidemic. It's a complicated story but worth sticking with even though it doesn't lead to a happy ending. It's a book you can't forget in a hurry.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
Shilts uses the personal stories of those who were affected by AIDS, not just gay men, but Doctors and Scientists and people infected via blood projects. This makes sure that the wider story of indifference and denial is always gounded in personal stories.
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