SOURCE: A review of And the Band Played On, in Journal of American Studies, Vol. 23, No. 2, August, 1989, p. 339.

In the following review, Cohan offers a positive assessment of And the Band Played On.

Although a number of books and articles have appeared dealing with all aspects of the AIDS epidemic, Mr. Shilts has produced the most comprehensive and moving account of the spread of the condition and its implications thus far written. His work as a reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle placed him in one of the two American cities hardest hit by AIDS and allowed him to follow the story from the beginning. Also he has accumulated a human interest content which social scientists would probably have avoided but which ultimately makes [And the Band Played On] such compelling reading. Public officials in the United States congratulate themselves for the speed with which they confronted the...