Product Description
This training package has been produced for audiences unfamiliar with harm reduction for injecting drug users. It provides an introduction to important concepts in HIV prevention for injecting drug users.
The package contains five training modules with slides that can be delivered separately or in one session. The modules cover the following topics: introduction to drugs, HIV and harm reduction; Outreach to
injecting drug users; Drug-dependency treatment; Needle and syringe programs and HIV prevention in prisons and closed settings.
The delivery of this training package should include opportunities for discussion and reflection of the information provided. Activities to facilitate this process have been included. ... Read more

Product Description
Etabli en janvier 1996, le Programme commun des Nations Unies sur le VIH/sida (ONUSIDA) appuie et coordonne les efforts de 10 organisations coparrainantes du système des Nations Unies, et collabore avec une vaste gamme d’autres partenaires à la riposte contre le sida. L’ONUSIDA est géré par un Conseil de Coordination du Programme où sont représentés les gouvernements de 22 pays de toutes les régions géographiques, six Coparrainants et cinq organisations non gouvernementales, notamment des associations de personnes vivant avec le VIH. Ce rapport annuel donne un aperçu des activités entreprises par l'ONUSIDA. ... Read more

Product Description
In candid, in-depth interviews, gay men discuss their experiences in the age of AIDS, their attitudes toward sex, and their motives for engaging in behaviors that are widely considered to be dangerous health risks. Revealing that such factors as guilt for being HIV negative, alcohol and drug use, and low self-esteem are possible causes of continuing dangerous sexual behavior, Turner also recommends ways to promote safer sex while respecting the choices and judgments of gay men.Amazon.com Review
Why some gay men find it easier to have safe sex than others is a question faced by educators and researchers. Dwayne C.Turner's Risky Sex profiles seven gay men ages 30 to 44 inan effort to understand the myriad influences that go into making decisionsabout sexual activity. While Risky Sex offers new, and often controversialinsights (Turner believes educators should strive toward the more reasonablegoal of risk reduction rather than elimination), the power and strength ofthe book resides in its author's enormously empathetic and beautifully writtendescriptions of the complexities and diversity of gay men's lives andexperiences. ... Read more

Product Description
Offers a solid background in the basics of normal nutrition, principles, and applications of food/nutrition science, and the role of foods in the treatment of illness. This highly successful, clearly-written book explains practical applications of principles of nutrition and food sciences to normal and therapeutic situations and provides the tools necessary for implementing nutritional strategies. Nutrition-related case studies appear throughout the text, to help bring dietary and nutritional concepts to life. Basic Nutrition and Diet Therapy, Eighth Edition, provides thirty practical case studies that reflect interdisciplinary nutritional practices. It also features the specifics of therapeutic diets organized by organ system, with etiology and rationale for all modifications given. Medicines, and their interactions with other drugs and nutrients receive thorough, general treatment in a separate, full chapter; while coverage of therapy for disease processes include a discussion of drug-nutrient interactions specific to those processes. In addition, this edition has been updated to include a new chapter on HIV/AIDS, emphasizing the importance of nutrition as it relates to this disease. Chapters One and Two now represent a distillation and condensation of material that was covered in several chapters in previous editions. The 1996 Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the new Exchange Lists for Meal Planning are both now featured. The Appendix includes newer, more comprehensive nutrient-analysis tables. Overall, appendices have been reordered to follow the flow of nutrition assessment and counseling. The glossary and list of abbreviations have been expanded and the nutrition history for has been revised. A valuable nutrition and diet therapy reference book for any professional in health care including nursing, dietetic technology, dental hygiene, food service management, sports, fitness, health education, and other health-related fields. ... Read more

Product Description
Selenium is a trace mineral that has been proven to have a protective effect against cancer. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Protect yourself from cancer with selenium
A few years ago the results of a large double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical study of selenium supplementation was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The multi-year study showed that people given 200 micrograms of supplemental selenium daily had only HALF the death rate from cancer as people who were given a placebo instead of selenium. No harmful side effects were observed. Has your doctor told you about this study or recommended that you take supplemental selenium to reduce your risk of cancer? I doubt it. He or she may well be unaware of this study; or, if aware, has dismissed it because it involved a simple, readily-available nutrient rather than a new wonder drug. But, if any pharmaceutical drug were available which cut the cancer death rate in half with no harmful side effects -- and none currently is -- you would see ads for it plastered on TV and magazines and your doctor would readily prescribe it for you. So if you want to reduce your risk of cancer with selenium you're probably not going to get the information you need from your doctor. However, you can get it from this book. By the way, perhaps your doctor or a friend may tell you that selenium is toxic. It is in large doses, but it is quite safe in the 200 microgram dosage used in the JAMA study which, as noted above, found no harmful side effects. Cancer is a disease that we all dread, but now you have the power to significantly reduce your risk. Please supply yourself with the information you need to do so. Dr. Passwater also discusses Selenium and AIDS.

the most scientific knoledge on the subject
cancer and aids,the most two intimidating diseases in the 20th century,are explained in this wonderful-interesting well explained guidebook especially on the protecting and healling mechanisms of the strongestmineral-antioxidant=selenium. the mechanisms,and the diseases are explainedsimply and the researches are well docomented.this guide is not a thickbook, but the amount of proven knoledge are worth of reading this guidebookat least twice.this is a must to everyone interested in those diseases.very much recommanded! ... Read more

Product Description
This book brings together articles that address the interconnected epidemics of AIDS and drug abuse. The substantive part of the book offers different sides of two key debates in the field. The editor places particular importance on 'harm reduction'. ... Read more

Product Description
In The HIV-Negative Gay Man: Developing Strategies for Survival and Emotional Well-Being, you’ll get instant access to some of the most recent information on the market today about remaining HIV-negative. You’ll come in contact with a wealth of information concerning the psychosocial and psychosexual needs of HIV-negative gay men and discover strategies for staying uninfected and cultivating a meaningful way of life in the face of HIV/AIDS.

Compiled by both professionals and peers, The HIV-Negative Gay Man goes to the front-lines of HIV prevention to help you understand the most beneficial and dependable ways of preserving the value of life and living it to the fullest. Radically reshaping and rehumanizing traditional HIV prevention efforts, these updated and personalized approaches will give you many individual strategies for survival in a world in which the link between sex and survival has been turned upside-down. You’ll find new ways to expand and enrich your own coping repertoire as you explore these topics:

• how the HIV-negative gay man’s complex emotional reactions change
• what peer groups can do when creating and experimenting with new identities and roles
• when group work needs to be short-term or long-term
• why a sex life vocabulary needs to be built
• where Latino Men can learn critical thinking about internalized homophobia and transgression survival mechanisms
• changing attitudes as a result of the development of protease inhibitors and new drug therapies in HIV prevention
  
  In The HIV-Negative Gay Man, you’ll find that the road to survival is a long one but a road that can be travelled and enjoyed if the right strategies are applied. This book is a “road map” for survival. In it, you’ll meet many brave professionals who are currently fighting on the front lines of HIV prevention and coming forward to share their own personal stories of survival. In turn, you’ll learn from them and eventually tell your own survival story to someone else along the way.

Customer Reviews (1)

yes, they have a point: still, it's a poor book.
Dealing with privilege is necessary, but difficult.Men's studies and critical white studies are very informative fields.However, those scholars walk a fine line and must avoid assuming that men have it bad just like women or whites with people of color.

Here, an analogy of AIDS and gay men is potent/present.In this book, the contributors point to HIV-negative men who feel guilty about seeing people die and "surviving the epidemic."This fear, and sometimes obsession, is making some men think, "Let me become positive so I can stop the worrying."This counterproductive worrying can cost lives, so the contributors rightly argue that HIV-negative men need the space to describe their trepidations.Until there is a cure, prevention is the key and counseling these men is a great prevention strategy.

Still, this book falls apart quickly.It's a very small text with few chapters.I think that is so because there is little to say here.The chapters head in disparate directions, and yet, it's still a repetitive book.This book is really just for therapists to talk to other therapists.Only the personal narratives near the beginning will be useful for wider audiences.

I think this phenomenon is restricted to a very limited populations.The authors are mostly from AIDS epicenters like NYC and SF.Most of them worked in AIDS organizations for years, especially in the first decade of the epidemic.At a time, when statistics say a huge number of gay men don't know they are positive and many don't know any person with full blown AIDS, the concerns expressed in this book cannot possibly be deemed widespread.Thus, only a certain type of reader would enjoy or relate to this book.

Most of the chapters are highly flawed.Alex Carballo-Dieguez, an amazing, outstanding Latino AIDS researcher, has a chapter here.However, most of his chapter details homophobia in Latin America.He only does a cursory job in answering whether Latino men in the US would have the same fears that the white non-Hispanic contributors describe.I think this chapter was meant to add a multicultural flare to the discussion, but it feels contrived.Still, a Jewish gay man has a personal narrative in this book and a director of GMAD, Gay Men of African Descent, is quoted.So there is some diversity.

Peter Newman tries to apply postmodern theory to this question.He argues that safer sex ads can't help positive and negative men at the same time.This chapter felt like whining.It doesn't understand how you have to work with what you got and make lemonade when handed lemons.At the end of his chapter, Newman even confesses that his discussion is just mental stroking.Just because no strategy is perfect, doesn't mean a critique like this is necessarily constructive.

Most importantly, this book can be dangerous.It rightfully admits that some gay men are burnt out by "always condoms, all the time."However, this book implies that two monogamous men can do without them.No way!:in a time when men are cheating on spouse of either gender and bringing AIDS home, no one can afford to make a compromise here.Even if there is condom fatigue, there is no effective solution in stopping the virus from spreading.

I do not recommend this book at all.There are better AIDS education publications out there.For real, this book is downright dangerous. ... Read more

Product Description
Now! A macrobiotic, holistic regime, with no drugs or their inherent side-effects, that proves as effective as AZT in prolonging the lives of AIDS patients. ... Read more

Product Description
Laboratories and chief of the research team that created Ritonavir, a protease-inhibiting drug, and his colleague, Dr. Lyn Frumkin, a nationally-renowned AIDS researcher, answer all the questions the public has about this deadly disease. They have written the only comprehensive book for both healthcare professionals and the general public and have been on the frontlines of AIDS research since the disease was first recognized as a killer in our midst. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Excellent book for educators.
As an educator, I think this book is one of the best I have read on this subject. It is factual and covers both social and medical aspects of HIV infection and AIDS. Its focus is scientific but it explains a wide range oftechnical concepts (eg current drug therapies, methods of detection) insuprisingly easy and straightforward terms. It has a very humane feel to itas its authors are both AIDS physicians and scientists involved in thesearching for better therapies. I think this book can truly help peoplelearn about AIDS. ... Read more

Product Description
Diagnosis: Cancer has established itself as the book every newly diagnosed cancer patient needs to have. In a question-and-answer format, Wendy Harpham--a doctor and cancer survivor--imparts all the learning she has gained, both medically and emotionally, to get a patient through the first few confusing and often scary months in the way that is best for them personally. In this revised and updated edition, Harpham discusses all the new developments in diagnosis and treatment, particularly new medications and formerly experimental methods that are now being used. Because of the growing number of people in managed care, she addresses how to work through the system to get full medical care, including when not to accept the limitations of one's health-care plan. Now a long-term cancer survivor, Harpham has an even deeper understanding of how to navigate the emotional and psychological roller coaster of being a newly diagnosed cancer patient. She incorporates her knowledge in this edition to help people become what she calls healthy survivors--cancer patients who get the best medical care possible and who minimize the pain, debility, and loss resulting from cancer. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Useful for all
I first purchased this book when I was diagnosed with Stage 3 lymphoma in 2003.Since then, I have purchased it many times for friends and family who have faced a cancer diagnosis.It is practical, compassionate, and timeless.I recommend it to anyone who has heard the unexpected words, "You have cancer."

A "must have" for any cancer patient
This book was given to me by my oncologist when I was initially diagnosed with breast cancer in 2004, however, I didn't really get into it until the cancer metatisized in 2007.I wish I had read it before...it is informative and inspirational without being "preachy".You can read the sections as you wish and take with you what you want.I'm still in treatment but I read something from it almost every day...my favorite is "This Too Shall Pass".

Realistic & Practical Cancer Battle Plan
This book is very helpful in navigating the minefield of cancer.I wish I had seen it earlier.The advice and insight
of a knowledgable physician in the same predicament was clear,
relevant, sensitive, and practical. The dominant format is question and answer so you can quickly access and address personal concerns first. It is also extremely helpful in knowing what to ask the oncologists and other healthcare providers involved in the treatment process.I would highly recommend this book to any new cancer patient, but it is also very appropriate for cancer survivors and care givers.

If You Only Get One Book About Cancer, Make It This One
This book is excellent! It is for anyone who has just received a cancer diagnosis, as well as for those around them who care.
It covers everything that you need to understand during those first few months, and it does so in an easy to understand, straight forward manner. It is written with wisdom, experience, and kindness. This book helped me immensely when my Mother was
diagnosed with cancer in March 2001 - having no prior experience or knowledge of what cancer was about. This is the book to get to arm you with enough information that you can help yourself.

"How can I help?"
When I was diagnosed with cancer, many friends confided that they felt helpless and didn't know how to help.Well, here's something you CAN do for a friend who's just learned that he or she has cancer:Buy this book! It's got the most important, practical information that a new cancerpatient needs first.Also, it's hopeful and encouraging yet absolutelyreliable, medically speaking -- a rare combination among"popular" cancer literature. ... Read more

Product Description
With over 330 scientific references, this book provides acomprehensive guide to the medical use of anabolic steroids, growthhormone, supplementation, optimal nutrition, and exercise to preventand treat the loss of lean body mass and body alterations experiencedby people with HIV. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (18)

excellent read
I read this book cover to cover.And I think it has a lot to offer.At least for me who is new to HIV.Being Positive for only 6 months.I was great and reassuring that I was doing what I could do to help w/ my recovery to be undetectable.Which is the aim for all people w/ HIV.So yes I will highly recommend this book to all.

time to update
This book had one or 2 pages of useful information... The rest is out of date, vague and misleading. Get a good Doc to help you with this stuff.

Excellent Guide For The HIV+ Beginner Looking to LIVE!!
Just recently purchased and read this book. Excellent reference guide not just for anabolic steroid use, but for nutrition, supplements, exercise and much more. This is a must have and must keep resource book! A valuable treasure I will constantly, be able to refer to.

A useful tool in HIV health care
Nelson and Michael have put together an extraordinarily useful compilation of articles dealing with the causes and treatments of HIV wasting and the host of maladies that accompany it. The current acceptance of steroid, exercise and nutrition therapies to treat HIV can be directly attributed to the good work done by these activists.

I recommend this book wholeheartedly...it has profoundly effected my life for the better and is an important tool in my health care.

THE BEST "how to live with HIV"book on the market
Mooney and Vergel are committed. They have spent thousands of hours researching lecturing and in the case of Vergel living with their subject. The book provides in laymens terms but backed with numerous scientific citations, how to use exercise, supplements and steroid agents to make living with HIV bearable.

The advent of HAART has meant a change in the life expectency of HIV patients. As a result the toxic effects of the HIV drugs are seeing many complications and side effects. This book discusses many of these and provides hands on suggestions for dealing with them.

Even if you just exercise you will feel better and you may just slow some of the side effects. You may even reverse some.

I have followed this book very casually since I bought it in July last year up until April 2001.I noticed that my "blood" results (other than Viral Load) were getting better and despite 'failing' a drug combination, my overall health was great. For the last 3 months I have followed some of the books recommendations RELIGIOUSLY. Despite having to change drugs due to resistance, my health and fitness has increased amazingly.And as an added benefit friends say I look the best I have in 10 years.My waist has gone from 38" to 31".My chest, arms and legs have all increased in size. My CD4's both in real and % terms are the highest in 4 years and all my other blood works are excellent. I am 40 years young.2 weeks ago I completed a Vitality and Longevity Analysis and my Doctor advised that I had the Celular Health of a 26 year old.

I am so confident of the book and the authors that I bought myDoctor a copy. ... Read more

Product Description
Treating HIV with Nutrition

Nutrition and HIV addresses the issues of nutrition and HIV from the perspective of the patient as well as the physician. Everyone who is interested in the problems of--and solutions to--nutritional therapy in HIV owes it to themselves to read this book.
--Paul A. Volberding, M.D., director, Center for AIDS Research, San Francisco

This reference book offers a sound nutritional model for sustaining and improving quality of life for HIV positive men and women. It outlines an easy-to-follow program for the prevention and treatment of weight loss--a common problem that if left untreated could lead to serious health decline or even death.

... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Action planning -- help for the confused
The best thing about this book is that it directs itself to empowering the individual, and gives helpful checklists ("algorithms") to guide people who are HIV+ into being pro-active in caring for themselves.In working with people diagnosed with HIV, it becomes obvious that there is a great desire to "do something", and just as great a number of questions about exactly what it might be most effective to do. It is a gift to have lists like those in this book as a starting point which can be modified to suit the individual's personal needs and skills.Just the fact that there is definitely somewhere to start in planning to help oneself will be reassuring news to many!

Definitely a must have book!
This book helps affected/infected individual understand the nutritional needs of the body and also goes on to describe many other aspects of HIV.This book is definitely a must have for HIV+ individuals andcaregivers/supporters.

A must read for those with HIV & for their support system.
Dr.Romeyn has addressed one of the most serious problems facing people with HIV, the devastating bodily wasting that occurs in those struggling with the effects of this disease.Her work is a comprehensive approach tonutritional treatment. She is articulate and yet not patronizing.Herconcern and compassion for those who suffer from this dissease is quiteapparent. I believe those who see her in her private practice are mostfortunate.I am grateful for her work, and have given copies of this bookto several men and women both in the parish and in the community atlarge.There is a great need in the larger community for this quality ofinformation. I highly recommend it.

Good book, but...
This is an informative book. However, it did not meet my expectations.It even gets boring sometimes. However, it is a good book to have if you are interested in learning more about vitamins and minerals, and their effectwith HIV/AIDS.

excellent for physician, patient, or friend
I found this book to be an excellent resource to provide both an overview of the HIV/AIDS disease process, and to help formulate a plan for one's management and care. As a third year medical student, I am often presentedwith only the pathology and epidemiology of a disease or illness, and leftto invision the person afflicted on my own.Dr. Romeyn helped to put aface on both the person/patient affected, as well as the physician activelycaring for them.In addition, she still managed to convey the essentialsthat anyone - physician, patient, or friend - should know and understand.This is a very helpful book. ... Read more

Product Description
One single factor can have life-or-death importance for someone with HIV: food. The right diet and nutrition can boost the immune system, and most important, maintain lean body mass. This groundbreaking, compassionate, and medically sound sourcebook is a food bible for the HIV community and their caregivers. Cooking for Life contains all the information you need about one of the safest, most effective, yet underutilized, weapons for staying well. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A Must-Have for AIDS Service Organizations' Collection!
I never realized how seriously I could be negatively impacting my health just by the way I handled my food.I've read through the book twice, and have since donated it to the bookshelves at the AIDS Support Network of San Luis Obispo County, CA.This book really should be given to each and every HIV-Positive person at no charge by their respective ASO's.Little things can truly have a great impact on our health.

Excellent Guide to Nutrition
This excellent guide is recipient of the Reviewer's Choice award and is well deserving of it.It details all aspects of nutrition and food safety and shows food is a great tool of preventive medicine in promoting healingofcommon AIDS-related illness. ... Read more

Product Description

From the Castro bathhouses to AZT and the denial of AIDS in South Africa, this sweeping look at AIDS covers the epidemic from all angles and across the world. Engel seamlessly weaves together science, politics, and culture, writing with an even hand&#8212noting the excesses of the more radical edges of the ACT UP movement as well as the conservative religious leaders who thought AIDS victims deserved what they got.

Customer Reviews (6)

CF: Book Review for The Epidemic
The Epidemic: A Global History on Aids

The topic of AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome) and HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) is broad, complex, catastrophic, and incredibly interesting. ¬¬¬ Jonathan Engel's The Epidemic: A Global History of Aids does a coherent job in explaining the complex history of the AIDS epidemic.Engel breaks down the AIDS/HIV timeline and its catastrophic effect on the world beginning from the 1930's. He begins with the origins of AIDS and continues with its vast effect on people, its effect in different countries, differences in trends, societal views and morals, government action, civil rights, and global connections.
Engel jumps right into the topic in the preface, leaving out unnecessary boring anecdotal information. As Engel focuses on the many facets of AIDS and its problems, he jumps from different topics, focusing one chapter on the science of AIDS and focusing on government and society in other chapters. This book is a comprehensive collection of short books. Engel, for instance, sums up the origins of AIDS with its similarity to the SIV (Simian Immunodeficiency Virus) in monkeys in Africa and then begins to tell the long story of AIDS how it made its way to the West. The book is interesting, making it a relatively easy read. Engel breaks this broad topic into chapters with sub-chapters
This history itself is fascinating and the evidence Engel uses to support his information is excellent. Engel makes it easier to understand AIDS and HIV as it progressed in the 1930's through the 1990's. This book is a great resource to build a foundation to understand this virus from a social perspective. The Epidemic does not provide very much information about the myths that are associated with the denial of HIV causing AIDS. Although a few myths were mentioned, Engel refuted those claims in short, swift sentences in his summary.
Engel portrays a very neutral connotation when describing controversial situations regarding AIDS and society's reaction to it. The flow and cohesiveness of the book is more objective in its reporting on AIDS. For example, when relaying the details about the beginning of the outbreak, starting with its prevalence in homosexuals, and IV drugs users, Engel does a good job in explaining the situation from an objective point of view. He describes how AIDS is used as means for political gain, if not for moral humiliation by religious parties, then for homosexuals' Civil Rights or other political agendas.
The Epidemic is very informative and does an excellent job in explaining and summarizing these difficult subjects. Instead of going too in-depth about how HIV and AIDS work, Engel simplifies this topic with more general terms, making it easier for any reader who is unfamiliar with this topic to understand. Engel describes how AIDS redefined the world, from its first appearances in homosexuals and how some people thought they deserved what they got, to how the third world countries struggled to cope with such an expensive and difficult disease. Engel also incorporates stories, experiences, and perspectives regarding AIDS from either a victim or by-stander viewpoint in order to get a reaction from his readers. Engel illustrates the trials and errors America took in trying to tame this epidemic. Despite the complexity and how far the AIDS effect reached, Engel is able to explain everything in a concise and fluid manner. Also, because Engel focuses on the global aspect of AIDS, he talks about AIDS and its transition. He discusses changes in demographics, how AIDS spread between different genders, and trends within race groups, sexuality, countries, and government involvement.
One of the best features about The Epidemic is its list of sources in the back of the book. Engel has broken down all the sources he has used for each chapter, therefore providing more sources to readers who might want to look for more in-depth information on all of his subtopics.
If a reader's purpose is to find more research into the skeptical claims made about HIV and AIDS, this is not the book to get. It offers good background information so far as its history, but it does not offer much science behind the virus nor does it delve into how the virus works or evolved. This book only scratches the surface with what AIDS and HIV is in detail. The Epidemic offers its readers a quick history of the aids virus and also compares its effect in different parts of world and to different groups of people. It is easy to navigate through the book or skip parts of little interest because not all of the chapters must be read to fully understand its topic. For example, Engel focuses a section to AIDS in Africa as well as AIDS in Asia. Therefore, a reader would not be left in the dark if they chose not to read certain chapters. This book takes readers on a trip, from the origins of AIDS in Africa to the homosexual bathhouses in America.
This book is intended to intrigue general readers who are either unfamiliar or who know very little about the AIDS epidemic. The purpose of The Epidemic is to explain in coherent detail the facts. This book is not intended for medical doctors. As the book begins with basic information about AIDS, it also continues to describe the AIDS/HIV more complex history and how it effected the world on every level. In Engel's conclusion, he describes how many countries and societies had to adapt and change and the differences are even more interesting as countries such as Africa remained in denial and ignorance. Engel's novel is both thorough, easy to read and quite interesting.

Carefully documented history of AIDS
Not only is this book well documented and thorough, it is well written and interesting. So many opportunities for teaching AIDS awareness and prevention and opportunities for saving lives were missed because of misguided fear of teaching human sexuality and AIDS prevention.Because of such ignorance and fear, too many lives were lost. This is an excellent book for libraries, and should be on every church and school library shelf.

Language Matters
I read The Epidemic hoping to find new, useful information to use in updating my own 1999 AIDS history, Victory Deferred: How AIDS Changed Gay Life in America (University of Chicago Press). I have to admit I was skeptical that any book could capture the global breadth of the HIV pandemic, and The Epidemic proved my skepticism well-founded. Not only does it skim along the surface of important, even profound, events, but the book is written in language that leaves the impression the author has not learned anything from what the pandemic has taught about the vital importance of language. I was surprised to learn the author holds a PhD in the history of medicine from Yale.

Here is what I mean: Throughout the book the terms HIV and AIDS are used interchangeably; they are not interchangeable. As it has been used since HIV testing became available, in 1985, AIDS refers to the advanced stage of HIV disease (the preferred term for the spectrum of HIV-related infection and illness) at which the virus has seriously damaged the immune system. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) considers a CD4 T-cell count below 200, a CD4 T-cell percentage below 14 percent, or the presence of an opportunistic infection in someone who has HIV to be what "defines" AIDS. A person cannot "catch" AIDS, though an HIV-positive person can progress to AIDS if his/her HIV infection is not managed with antiretroviral therapy. Throughout The Epidemic, the author refers to people "catching," being "infected with" or "spreading" AIDS. This is inaccurate, misleading and even a bit histrionic.

Other examples of poor language choice (and sloppy writing): "the gay community has been uniquely vulnerable to the virus." No, individuals who practice particular activities (primarily unprotected receptive anal intercourse) are uniquely vulnerable to the virus; the gay community includes such men, though not all gay men practice such activities. "Diseased already, the prostitutes could both more easily get the disease as well as give it." This is highly stigmatizing language. "AIDS babies." What is an "AIDS baby"? I will assume it's a "baby born with HIV infection"?

In a 300+ page book, the tremendously important role of AIDS service organizations in caring for the sick and preventing further HIV transmission is considered in a few paragraphs. The global impact of gay American men with AIDS in the early 1980s insisting on an active role in their health care decisions, demanding respect and rejecting the label of "AIDS victim" isn't even considered. But maybe that isn't surprising because they were the very people with AIDS (as they insisted on being called) who pointed out that language--how one refers to a person or describes a disease caused by a retrovirus--matters.

Clearly this book has not benefitted from some of the most basic, and most important, lessons of the history of the HIV pandemic. It breaks no new ground, and offers only a superficial, not very well polished, gloss on what was called as early as 1983 "the most important health crisis of our time." I wish I had found something useful here to help update my own book, but unfortunately I didn't.

Fascinating look at the epidemic of our age
This is a well-written, fascinating account of a disease that will define our generation.The discussion of the social and political construct surrounding the epidemic was extremely interesting.I would highly recommend this book to any person who wants to understand the global AIDS crisis and its challenges a little better.

An excellent overview
This book gives an excellent overview of the history, spread and consequences of HIV as it spreads through the global population.Written in a clear and easy to read style it provides a depth of accurate information to the layperson that I do not think can be easily gotten elsewhere.

I was particularly impressed with the author's grasp of the cultural aspects of the disease and the way in which beliefs, traditions and practices contribue to how effectively specific populations are coping with the virus.

This book should be recommended reading! ... Read more

Product Description
"The Guide to Living with HIV Infection" is first and foremost a coping book - medically reliable, comprehensive, and marvelously human. It is for all people affected by the diagnosis of HIV infection; for patients and caregivers, for families and friends. "The book is about how to live with HIV infection", the authors write, "that is, how to live as long and full and satisfying a life as possible". In this thoroughly revised and updated edition, John G. Bartlett, Ann Finkbeiner offer straightforward advice to help people deal with the medical and emotional problems HIV infection presents: what to do when first diagnosed; how to prevent transmission; the physical and emotional effects of HIV infection; HIV-associated dementia; options for medical care; financial and legal concerns; what to do when feeling sick; and when feeling well. New to this edition are detailed discussions of the effectiveness, availability, and side effects of new drugs; HIV and women; recent data on CD4 cell counts; updated information on the traris,missian of HIV; revised definitions of the stages of infection; the new form of tuberculosis; and the facts about opportunistic infections. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Highly recommended!
As a PWA (Person living with AIDS) and a professional that works in the private Social Services sector specializing in HIV/AIDS patient care, I highly recommend this book!

This book can function as both a personal and/or professional guide to the disease, the services and benefits that someone living with HIV/AIDS may qualify for, and a general overview of some of the drugs and treatment options.

This book is also a wonderful tool to give to friends and family should someone living with HIV/AIDS choose to disclose their Sero-status.

Highly recommended without any reservation!

Good, but dry.....
I agree with most of what the other reviewers are saying, but I found it a bit dry, and somewhat frightening if anyone reading it was just diagnosed with HIV; flipping through it can fill you with "doom and gloom".....

Excellent and thorough
An excellent guide which explains how HIV is transmitted, evaluates available treatment andprevention, provides counsel on coping with the emotional effects of the infection, and addresses financial and legal concerns. New to this revised and updatededition are detailed discussions of newdrugs, specialconsiderations for women, and recent data on CF4 cell counts and viralload.

Comprehensive. Everything you might & might not want to know
As someone only recently becoming interested in HIV this book covered alot of ground, including the medical course of the disease, the emotional effects on those with the infection and those caring for people with it andlegal matters. Designed more as a manual, where certain chapters can beskipped if not relative to a persons needs, it's structure still led easilyfrom one section to the next. Accounts from people living with the virusand their cargivers add a human touch which can be associated with byalmost anyone. A very good book for anyone coming in blind to the subject.Interesting, thought provoking and intellegent...

Essential reading for anyone infected with HIV
This up-to-date 1998 book is absolutely essential reading for anyone with HIV or AIDS.The book not only addresses the medical aspects of this virus, but alsosuch issues as understanding and communicating about HIV, how to deal with HIV's possible effects on the body, insuarance and HIV and guidance for making legal, financial and medical decisions.No book written prior to 1998 offers current enough information about this virus.For this year, this book can serve as a vital referenc manual for those with HIV or those who love someone with HIV. ... Read more

Product Description
More than twenty years into the global AIDS pandemic, the efforts of Christian congregations and denominations have been less than minimal. This book is aimed to awaken Christian compassion in the coming years to this fathomless tragedy.

The worst health crisis in the world in 700 years, global HIV/AIDS epidemic is overwhelming in scale: 40 million people are infected worldwide (75% of them in Africa); 7000 people die daily; each day 1600 persons are infected. Some 26 million people have already died.

''At this unprecedented kairos moment in human history,'' says Messer, ''God is calling the church to a new mission and ministry.'' Drawing on his own involvement in global AIDS education in Asia, Latin America, and Africa, Messer uses stories, basic factual information, and theological insights to motivate lay and clerical Christians to assume leadership and form partnerships with Christians around the world in this struggle. Just as individuals must change their behavior to prevent and eliminate AIDS, so must congregations and church leaders. Compassion, not condemnation, is desperately needed, says Messer. But financial resources for education and prevention programs are also urgently required from churches. Messer shows how churches can partner with ecumenical organizations, relief agencies, volunteer mission programs, healthcare programs, and other agencies to engage global AIDS directly and effectively. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Breaking the Conspiracy of Silence: Christian CHurches and the Global AIDS Crisis
Are Christian Churches really "Christian" when they exclude certain groups of people from worship and other aspects of "church" life because this group does not meet certain 'qualities' or 'qualifications'?

HIV-AIDS and the Gospel
"It is required of a person," wrote Oliver Wendell Holmes, "that he should share the passion and action of his time at peril of being judged not to have lived" (p. 69). Using Holmes' metric, and the statistics that continue to emerge about the magnitude of the global AIDS crisis, one would think that most people, and especially Christians, would be involved. But such is not the case, according to Donald Messer. True, 22 million people have died of AIDS, 40 million now live with HIV (95% of whom are in the two-thirds world), and 14 million orphans have lost parents to the disease. True, the disease is still in its infancy and by some estimates will not peak until the year 2050. True, although 95% of HIV infected people live in the two-thirds world, only about 10% of the global HIV/AIDS budget is spent there (p. 118). Even so, Messer argues, most Christians have responded with apathy, indifference, denial, denunciation and discrimination. His book wants to move us forward.

In the Greek New Testament the word kairos (= "time") has a special connotation, which Robert McAfee Brown once defined as "a time of opportunity demanding a response: God offers us a new set of possibilities and we have to accept or decline" (p. xiii). The Scottish theologian George McLeod (1895-1991) may have said it best when he wrote, "I simply argue that the Cross be raised again at the center of the market place as well as on the steeple of the church. I am recovering the claim that Jesus was not crucified in a Cathedral between two candles, but on a Cross between two thieves; on the town garbage heap; on a crossroads so cosmopolitan that they had to write his title in Hebrew and in Latin and in Greek; at the kind of place where cynics talk smut and thieves curse, and soldiers gamble. Because that is where he died and that is what he died about. And that is where churchmen should be and what churchmen should be about" (p. 20). ... Read more