The AIDS Reader

McKenzie has assembled a powerful collection of essays by a gathering of AIDS researchers and activists and journalists whose very diversity emphasizes the multifaceted nature of the problem of AIDS. Included are 32 pieces that previously appeared in publications ranging from the Journal of the American Medical Association to Philosophical Forum to Newsday. Anthony S. Fauci discusses the molecular biology of the HIV virus and how it disrupts the immune system. Kathryn Anastos and Carola Marte maintain that women infected with AIDS are the ``missing persons'' in this epidemic and frequently do not receive adequate medical help, partially because too little is known about how HIV disease manifests itself in women. Stephen Jay Gould argues that AIDS is not ``diabolical'' but follows the normal workings of biology; because of our ``moral stupidity'' in relegating it as the disease of ``irregular groups'' (homosexuals, IV drug-users and Haitians), he claims, we already have lost precious time in battling it. Karen Davis and Diane Rowland consider the plight of the uninsured--``the poor, minorities, young adults and rural residents''--who face AIDS with inadequate medical care. McKenzie is executive director of the Health Policy Advisory Center in New York City. (Apr.)