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''And the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic'' is a 1987 book by ''San Francisco Chronicle'' journalist Randy Shilts. In it, Shilts chronicles the discovery and spread of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) with a special emphasis on government indifference and political infighting—specifically in the United States—to what was then perceived as a specifically gay disease. Shilts' premise is that AIDS was allowed to happen: while AIDS is caused by a biological agent, incompetence and apathy toward those who were initially affected by AIDS allowed the spread of the disease to become much worse. The book is an extensive work of investigative journalism, written in the form of an encompassing time line; the events that shaped the epidemic are presented as sequential matter-of-fact summaries. Shilts describes the impact and the politics involved in battling the disease on particular individuals in the gay, medical, and political communities. Shilts begins his discussion in the late 1970s with the then-first confirmed case of AIDS, that of Grethe Rask, a Danish doctor working in Africa. He ends with the announcement by actor Rock Hudson in 1985 that he was dying of AIDS, when international attention on the disease exploded. ''And the Band Played On'' was critically acclaimed and became a best-seller. Judith Eannarino of the ''Library Journal'' called it "one of the most important books of the year", upon its release.〔Eannarino, Judith (November 15, 1987). "And the Band Played On (book review)." ''Library Journal'' 112 (19) p. 71.〕 It made Shilts both a star and a pariah for his coverage of the disease and the bitter politics in the gay community. He described his motivation to undertake the writing of the book in an interview after its release, saying, "Any good reporter could have done this story, but I think the reason I did it, and no one else did, is because I am gay. It was happening to people I cared about and loved." The book was later adapted into an HBO film of the same name in 1993. Shilts was tested for HIV while he was writing the book; he died of complications from AIDS in 1994. ==Background== Shilts decided to write ''And the Band Played On'' after attending an awards ceremony in 1983 where he was to receive a commendation for his coverage on AIDS. As described in the book, television announcer Bill Kurtis gave the keynote address and told a joke: "What's the hardest part about having AIDS? Trying to convince your wife that you're Haitian."〔p. 384, ''And the Band Played On''〕 Shilts responded to the joke by saying that it "says everything about how the media had dealt with AIDS. Bill Kurtis felt that he could go in front of a journalists' group in San Francisco and make AIDS jokes. First of all, he could assume that nobody there would be gay and, if they were gay, they wouldn't talk about it and that nobody would take offense at that. To me, that summed up the whole problem of dealing with AIDS in the media. Obviously, the reason I covered AIDS from the start was that, to me, it was never something that happened to those other people."〔 After publication of the book, Shilts explained his use of the title: "''And the Band Played On'' is simply a snappier way of saying 'business as usual'. Everyone responded with an ordinary pace to an extraordinary situation."〔Engel, Margaret. "AIDS and Prejudice: One Reporter's Account of the Nation's Response." ''The Washington Post'', December 1, 1987, p. Z10.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「And the Band Played On」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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