The book is in almost new condition. Does have 3 stickers (1 on dust jacket, 1 on 1st page and 1 on inside cover) Dust jacket is slightly discolored (see photos). Pages are clean and fresh and free of notes, markings, underlining or anything else.

Virginia Berridge: Reader in History, Department of Public Health and Policy, London School of Hygiene Tropical Medicine, Reader in History, Department of Public Health and Policy, London School of Hygiene Tropical Medicine, University of London.

Summary:
When this book was written it was fifteen years ago, the AIDS `epidemic' was not on the public agenda.
In just over a decade, the public and official response to the disease has resulted in the development of an entire network of organizations dedicated to the study, control, and practical treatment of AIDS.
In this important and original analysis of AIDS policy, Virginia Berridge examines the speed and nature of the official (and unofficial) response to this new and critical historical event.
The policy response in Britain went through three stages.
From 1981-1986, the outbreak of a new infectious disease led to public alarm and social stigmatization, with a lack of scientific certainty about the nature of the condition. AIDS was a new and open policy area - there were no established mechanisms of departments, local agencies or health authorities to deal with the problem.
This was a period of policy development from the bottom up, with relatively little official action and many voluntary initiatives behind the scenes.
This phase was succeeded in 1986-1987 by a brief phase of quasi-emergency, during which national politicians and senior officials intervened and a high-level political response was made.
That response was a liberal one of `safe sex' and minimization of harm rather than draconian notification or isolation of the carriers.
The author shows that despite the `Thatcher revolution' in the 1980s, crisis could still stimulate a consensual response.
In the current period of `normalization' of the disease, panic subsides as the rate of growth slows and the fear of the unknown subsides.
Official institutions have been established and formal procedures adopted and revised; paid professionals have replaced former volunteers. In the 1990s, the liberal consensus changed toward a tougher approach and AIDS was partially re-politicized.
In this fascinating and scholarly account, Virginia Berridge analyzes a remarkable period in contemporary British history, and uncovers the reaction of British political and medical elites, and of the British public, to one of the most challenging issues of this century.