1970s: Idi Amin asks Garrigan to investigate a fatal "new disease" among his soldiers. Although Garrigan finds nothing out of the ordinary, he wonders later, with the advent of HIV/AIDS, whether he was treating some of the earliest cases.

Today: The HIV/AIDS infection rate for adults in Uganda is 8.3 percent, and about 820,000 people are suspected to be living with HIV/AIDS.

1970s: Idi Amin seizes power from President Apollo Obote in 1971 and promulgates a reign of terror for the next eight years.

Today: After seizing power in 1986, President Yoweri Museveni is elected Ugandan chief of state in the March 2001 popular elections.

1970s: Idi Amin expels from Uganda all Indians and Asians, who own and run a majority of the businesses in the country. As a result, Uganda's economy collapses and shortages of basic goods are widespread.

Today: In the last decade, the...