Date: Wed, 28 Jan 1998 08:57:23 CST Reply-To: "H. Robert Malinowsky" Sender: AIDS Book Review Journal From: "H. Robert Malinowsky" Subject: AIDSBKRV 41 A I D S B O O K R E V I E W J O U R N A L University of Illinois at Chicago H. Robert Malinowsky Editor ISSN 1068-4174 Number 41 January, 1998 An electronic journal reviewing books, videos, journal titles, and other materials covering AIDS, safer sex, sexually transmitted diseases, and other related materials, published irregularly by the University of Illinois at Chicago Library. Editorial offices: PO Box 8198 M/C 234, Chicago, IL 60680. AIDS Book Review Journal is free of charge and is available only in electronic form. Opinions expressed in the reviews are those of the editor or reviewers. To subscribe over INTERNET: send note to listserv@listserv.uic.edu with note: sub AIDSBKRV your first and last name. An AIDSBKRV backfile of all issues is available at the following URL: http://www.uic.edu/depts/lib/aidsbkrv/. All materials in the journal are subject to copyright by the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois and may be reprinted or redistributed for the noncommercial purpose of scientific or educational advancement granted by Sections 107 and 108 of the Copyright Revision Act of 1976. For other reprinting, redistribution, or translation, address requests to H. Robert Malinowsky, University of Illinois at Chicago Library, PO Box 8198, Chicago, IL 60680 or electronically to hrm@uic.edu. **************************************************************************** It is the hope that this journal will be able to alert individuals about new and noteworthy older publications, videos, journal titles, and other print and non-print materials pertaining to AIDS, safer sex, STDs, and other related topics. AIDS is a devastating disease that is everyone's concern. New advances for treatment and education are constantly being developed. Information specialists need to be alerted to these new materials so that they can educate everyone from the school child who needs a picture book about AIDS to the layperson who needs general information on the disease or a novel with an AIDS theme to the researcher looking for a synopsis of research to those who are HIV+ needing comfort and support through the writings of those who have AIDS or are HIV+. The Editor welcomes comments that can be sent to him at hrm@uic.edu. If any reader also is a publisher of any AIDS-related material and would like it considered for review in this journal, please send items to H. Robert Malinowsky, AIDS Book Review Journal, 1250 W. Grace 1st Fl, Chicago, IL 60613, so that the material can be considered. AIDS Book Review Journal URL: http://www.uic.edu/depts/lib/aidsbkrv/ ====================================================================== 770. There is Hope: Learning to Live with HIV, 3rd ed. by Janice Ferri, Jill Schwendeman. 771. Getting Your Solo Act Together, edited by Michael Kearns. 772. Still Life with Buddy: A Novel told in Fifty Poems, by Leslea Newman. 773. Multicultural AIDS Prevention Programs, edited by Robert T. Trotter, II. 774. Stopping AIDS: AIDS/HIV Education and the Mass Media in Europe, by Kaye Wellings, Becky Field. 775. Nutrition and Wasting in HIV Infection, by Donald P. Kotler. 776. Mycobacterium Avium Complex and Tuberculosis Infection: Management in Patients with HIV Disease, by Richard E. Chaisson, William R. Bishai. 777. Morality and Health, edited by Allan M. Brandt, Paul Rozin. 778. With Chatwin: Portrait of a Writer, by Susannah Clapp. 779. HIV and Membrane Receptors, by Dimiter S. Dimitrov, Christopher C. Broder. 780. Troubling the Angels: Women Living with HIV/AIDS, by Patti Lather, Chris Smithies. 781. AIDS: Choices for Life, by Carol Rust Nash. 782. Positive Life: Portraits of Women Living with HIV, interviews by River Huston, photographs by Mary Berridge. 783. Policing Desire: Pornography, AIDS and the Media, 3rd edition by Simon Watney. 784. Falling Through the Cracks: AIDS and the Urban Poor, by Victor Ayala. 785. Between the Sheets: Sexual Diaries and Gay Men's Sex in the Era of AIDS, by Anthony P. M. Coxon. 786. When AIDS Comes Home: Answers to the Most Commonly Asked Questions; What to Say, What to Do, and How to Live with AIDS, by Mignon M. Zylstra, David Biebel. ====================================================================== 770. There is Hope: Learning to Live with HIV, 3rd edition by Janice Ferri, Jill Schwendeman, edited by Janice Ferri. 1997. HIV Coalition, 1471 Business Center Drive, Ste 500, Mount Prospect, IL 60056. 324p., bibliog., index. ISBN 0-9639390-2-5. $15.00. (Descriptors: Popular Works; Resources; Director) This is by far one of the best of the local resources that are available for HIV positive individuals. In its third edition it continues to provide up-to-date, useful information in a very user friendly format. HIVCO, the HIV Coalition (an Illinois based organization) has provided a resource "of information and advice on coping with HIV, local and national resources, reprints from noteworthy publications, and first-person narratives from people living with the disease and the professionals who assist them." The first-person narratives are what sets this resource apart from other resources. These are the narratives that provide the hope that all HIV positive individuals need in order to cope with this dreaded disease. They are testimonials on how to continue to live with the virus, how to cope with the medications, how to deal with the harassment that may occur, and how to look at life in a different light. Part 1: "Questions and Answers about HIV," provides the reader the needed avenues for acquiring information through the telephone, computer, FAX, consortia, local health departments, libraries, books, publications, videos, media, local AIDS service organizations, and HIV/AIDS education and advocacy organizations. Also included are resources for women, children, teens, gays and bisexuals, people of color, professionals, and family, friends, and caregivers. The second part: "Voices of Hope," stresses that you are not alone. The third part: "First Steps," is by far the longest, providing discussions on "taking charge," "finding and working with a doctor," "exploring the range of treatments," and "telling others." The fourth part: "Learning to Live with HIV," provides information about nutrition, food safety, exercise, rest and relaxation, emotional support, spiritual support, sex, having children, drug use, homelessness, prisoners, hygiene, and pets. In the fifth part: "Getting Through the Runaround," one finds out how to deal with insurance, government assistance programs, Social Security Administration programs, Illinois Department of Public Aid Programs, housing, food, financial planning, and your legal rights. The last part: "Prepared for Whatever Comes," discusses how to plan for death. Fortunately, this is not a part of living with HIV that is as critical as it was when the first edition of this book was printed. The new treatments have helped greatly to extend one's life beyond all expectations. All in all this is an excellent book, especially for those living in Illinois, but of use to anyone throughout the United States. Highly recommended for all libraries in the State of Illinois and recommended as a good resource for libraries in other parts of the country. 771. Getting Your Solo Act Together, edited by Michael Kearns. 1997. Heinemann, 361 Hanover St., Portsmouth, NH 03801-3912. 101p. 0-435-07032-0. $12.95. (Descriptors: Acting; One-person Shows) (Contributors: Tony Abatemarco, Paul Bonin-Rodriguez, Kate Bornstein, Jerry Browning, F. Kathleen Foley, Steven Kent, Dan Kwong, Joan Lipkin, Corey Madden, Colin Martin, Tim Miller, Rob Sullivan, Denise Uyehara, Will K. Wilkins) Although Getting Your Solo Act Together has nothing to do with AIDS, directly, it does indirectly. Many HIV positive individuals are very artistic and as therapy, being able to openly talk about their virus is very important. Writing and performing one-person shows can be terrific therapy and this book provides the basis for anyone to learn about doing just this. It covers a great amount of information in very few pages, including, genres, creation, politics, staging, promotion, marketplace, tech, audience, demands, rewards, dangers, and the dos and don'ts. Michael Kearns is an actor/director/playwright who has appeared in all media: film, television, and, most extensively, theatre. He is the author of T-Cells and Sympathy (1995) and Acting=Life: An Actor's Life Lessons (1996). A well-recommended book for all libraries. 772. Still Life with Buddy: A Novel Told in Fifty Poems, by Leslea Newman. 1997. Pride Publications, PO Box 148, Radnor, OH 43066-0148. 77p. ISBN 1-886383-27-8. $9.95. (Descriptors: Poetry) This incredibly unique book should be read by everyone. It will make you laugh, cry, be angry, and above all be jolted into reality of what AIDS can do to an individual. Leslea has told of her friendship with Buddy through 50 short and long poems. Her method of telling this passionate story through poetry makes it so vivid. Her prophecy sets the stage: "When you get in the nineties, my grandmother said; all the people you know are already dead; In 1990 I turn thirty-five; most of my friends more dead than alive." Her poems tell of how she cared for Buddy in his final days and how she coped after he died. Humor is always there with the dark cloud of AIDS over it, but you continue reading with tears in your eyes, knowing that the friendship between these two was ever so strong. Her postscript sums it up: "By the year 2000, Buddy said,; they'll find a cure, but I'll be dead.; New drugs appear in '96; too late for Buddy, who's no longer sick." This is a book for all libraries, especially school and public libraries. It should be required reading for all high school teens who find themselves invincible and think that they will never die. 773. Multicultural AIDS Prevention Programs, edited by Robert T. Trotter, II. 1996. Harrington Park Press, 10 Alice St., Binghamton, NY 13904-1580. 235p., bibliog., index. (Drugs and Society, v.9, no.1/2, 1996). ISBN 1-56024-849-1. $49.95. (Descriptors: Prevention; Cross-Cultural Studies) (46 contributors) Although this is a 1996 publication, the information contained in the 13 papers provides extremely important background for any ongoing research that involves HIV and drug prevention efforts. Much as been accomplished in the past ten years involving research in this area but much more needs to be accomplished before society can say that it has done a good job. The moral and political implications that surround HIV and drug prevention still leaves a sour taste in the mouths of those who are trying to do the educating. Religious leaders are beginning to understand that in the multiculturally deprived areas of our nation, you have to set aside your personal beliefs and hit the problem head on. The 13 papers in this book are the result of National AIDS Demonstration Research projects that have been supported by the NIDA Cooperative Agreement Program and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The initial research that was conducted several years ago was filled with methodological and practical ambiguities, but the research presented here shows much more success than previous efforts and resolves some of the methodological confusion from the past. The 13 papers are: "Stages of Change for HIV Risk Behavior," "Factors Contributing to Retention of Not-in-Treatment Drug Users in an HIV/AIDS Outreach Prevention Project," "The Effect of Psychosocial Domains on AIDS Risk Behaviors," "Predicting Increased Condom Use with Main Partners," "Condom Use with Main and Other Sex Partners Among High-Risk Women," "Sexual Orientation and HIV Risk Behaviors in a National Sample of Injection Drug Users and Crack Smokers," "Using Stages of Change to Assess Intervention Readiness and Outcome in Modifying Drug-Related and Sexual HIV Risk Behaviors of IDUs and Crack Users," "Effectiveness of HIV Interventions Among Crack Users," "An Analysis of Differential Factors Affecting Risk Behaviors Among Out-of-Treatment Drug Users in Four Cities," "Effects of HIV Testing and Counseling on Reducing HIV Risk Behavior Among Two Ethnic Groups," "Cost of Outreach for HIV Prevention Among Drug Users and Youth at Risk," "Correlates and Consequences of Entering Drug Treatment," and "AIDS Prevention: Conclusions and Implications." A recommended book for all academic, medical, and large public libraries. 774. Stopping AIDS: AIDS/HIV Education and the Mass Media in Europe, by Kaye Wellings, Becky Field. 1996. Addison Wesley Longman, 2725 Sand Hill Rd., Menlo Park, CA 94025. 263p., illus., bibliog., index. ISBN 0-582-29227-1. $22.75. (Descriptors: Social Aspects, Political Aspects, Education, Europe) This is an excellent historical reference source that documents AIDS education in Europe. "The collection of materials forming the basis for this book is housed in the AIDS Public Education resource centre in the Health Promotion Sciences Unit, which is part of the Department of Public Health and Policy at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM)." The key features of European AIDS campaigns are documented, showing how difficult it was to put forth the messages to the general public when many of the images that had to be used seemed to be more appropriate for private rather than public viewing. Nevertheless, the compilers have done a very good job of picking out what was presented that had the best impact on the public. The first 9 chapters cover: "Introduction," "Setting the Agenda," "Targeting Interventions," "Getting the Message," "Influencing the Social Climate: Solidarity Campaigns," "Motivating Behaviour Change," "Eroding Barriers to Preventive Action," "Specific Issues in AIDS Public Education," and "Evaluating AIDS Public Education Campaigns." The last half of the book has a country report for each of the following: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and United Kingdom. This is an excellent historical resource that should be in all research libraries throughout the world. 775. Nutrition and Wasting in HIV Infection, by Donald P. Kotler. 1997. Healthcare Communications Group, 1800 Jackson St., Ste 200, Golden, CO 80401. 23p., bibliog. (Clinical Care Options for HIV Continuum of Care Series, no.8). free. (Descriptors: Wasting, Nutrition) This is another of the excellent self-study programs provided by the Healthcare Communications Group and funded by Roche Laboratories. It is intended for front line primary care physicians and specialists, pharmacists, advanced nurse clinicians and nurse practitioners, as well as generalists in these professions, who have an understanding of HIV/AIDS. Since malnutrition is a common complication of HIV-positive individuals, this program is extremely important for all health professionals. The objectives are "to describe the classical patterns of malnutrition," "to review methods of nutritional assessment," "to discuss the nutritional alterations associated with HIV infection and AIDS," "to discuss pathogenic mechanisms of malnutrition in clinical context," "to present algorithms for etiologic diagnosis," and "to review the results of treatment studies." This is an extremely well-written program that should be of great help to many individuals. All medical libraries should have copies of this program as well as all of the other programs provided by the Healthcare Communications Group. 776. Mycobacterium Avium Complex and Tuberculosis Infection: Management in Patients with HIV Disease, by Richard E. Chaisson, William R. Bishai. 1997. Healthcare Communications Group, 1800 Jackson St., Ste 200, Golden, CO 80401. 23p., bibliog. (Clinical Care Options for HIV Continuum of Care Series, no.5). free. (Descriptors: Mycobacterium Avium, Tuberculosis) This is another Healthcare Communications Group program covering Mycobacterium Avium Complex and tuberculosis. Although there has been much progress in combating these, they still haunt those who are HIV-positive. Healthcare providers must constantly watch for any of the symptoms and act accordingly. There are four objectives of this course: "Describe the pathogenesis of Mycobacterium avium and Mycobacterium tuberculosis," "Discuss diagnostic procedures for the evaluation of MAC and TB," "Outline clinical strategies for the prevention and treatment of MAC and TB," and "Identify relevant drug-drug interactions/toxicities and appropriate monitoring techniques." As with all other courses from the Healthcare Communications Group, this one is well-written and highly recommended. All medical libraries should have this and the other programs. 777. Morality and Health, edited by Allan M. Brandt, Paul Rozin. 1997. Routledge, 29 W 35th St, New York, NY 10001. 416p., bibliog., index. ISBN 0-415-91581-3, 0-415-91582-1pbk. $65.00, $24.95pbk. (Descriptors: Health Behavior, Moral and Ethical Aspects, Health Attitudes) (Contributors: Warren Belasco, Allan M. Brandt, David T. Courtwright, Linda Gordon, Lawrence O. Gostin, Joseph R. Gusfield, Solomon H. Katz, Arthur M. Kleinman, Joan Kleinmanb, Howard M. Leichter, Manamohan Mahapatra, David Mechanic, Sidney W. Mintz, Nancy C. Much, Lawrence Park, Charles E. Rosenberg, Paul Rozin, Richard A. Shweder, Keith Thomas, Nancy Tomes) This is a book about the history of health and morality. It is not about AIDS and morality but rather about all diseases and morality. "Rather than seeing health or disease as random and inevitable, societies have throughout history developed complex and sophisticated explanations for the causes and prevalence of disease. Embedded in these explanatory frames are deeply held, if often unstated, sensibilities about right and wrong, good and bad, responsibility and danger. This book explores--from a wide range of perspectives and disciplines and in diverse contexts--the complex relationship of morality to health." This is a fascinating book to read. It dispels many beliefs that are quoted again and again. It makes one stop and think about what is being provided by the popular media. After reading this book, one will never again take what is printed or said as the gospel truth without looking deeper into the origination of the statement. Our political and religious moralist have become much more clever in twisting the truth to meet their needs without realizing that they are doing much more harm than good. The papers cover: "Health and Morality in Early Modern England," "Banishing Risk," "Behavior, Disease, and Health in the Twentieth-Century United States," "Social Context of Health and Disease and Choices among Health Interventions," "Moral Transformations of Health and Suffering in Chinese Society," "The Big Three of Morality (Autonomy, Community, Divinity) and the Big Three Explanations of Suffering," "Sugar and Morality," "Food, Morality, and Social Reform," "The Culture of Public Problems: Drinking-Driving and Symbolic Order," "Morality, Religion, and Drug Use," "Teenage Pregnancy and Out-of-Wedlock Birth," "Moralizing the Microbe," "Secular Morality," "The Legal Regulation of Smoking (and Smokers)," "Lifestyle Correctness and the New Secular Morality," and "Moralization." This is a highly recommended book for all libraries, including school libraries. It is easy to read so that one does not have to be highly educated to understand what is being said. Some, however, will disagree with what is said but that is what makes a book like this worth reading. 778. With Chatwin: Portrait of a Writer, by Susannah Clapp. 1997. Alfred A. Knopf, 201 E 50th St, New York, NY 10022. 241p. ISBN 0-679-41033-3. $23.00. (Descriptors: Biography) Bruce Chatwin was am extraordinary person who loved to perform, talk, and write using tales and outlandish facts. He wrote six very different books before he died of AIDS in 1989 at the age of 48. Susannah Clapp has written a beautiful book, giving the reader a "unique insight into how Chatwin thought and wrote and where he did it, whether in forts or towers, in Wales or Rajasthan, always with a Mont Blanc pen on American yellow legal pads." AIDS has taken away another great person who provided the world entertainment through his writings. How many more individuals such as Chatwin are we to give up to AIDS before a cure or vaccine is discovered? A book for everyone to read and one that should be in every library. 779. HIV and Membrane Receptors, by Dimiter S. Dimitrov, Christopher C. Broder. 1997. Chapman & Hall, 115 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10003. 190p., illus., bibliog, index. (Medical Intelligence Unit). ISBN 1-57059-464-3. $89.95. (Descriptors: Cell Receptors, HIV Infections, T Cells, Receptors, Pathogenicity, Virology) There were two major scientific achievements in 1996 that could call this a year of transition "from desperation to new hope in fighting AIDS." First, was the discovery of the potent protease inhibitors and other anti-HIV-1 drugs and second, the discovery of the long-sought HIV-1 coreceptors (fusion cofactors). The protease inhibitors are being rigorously tested in clinical trials and have shown amazing results. There is still caution, however, because they do not work the same in all individuals. The HIV-1 coreceptors, on the other hand, are the new focus for new drug developments that may enhance the multiple drug therapies that are currently being tested. One of the coreceptors, CCR5, is highly resistant to infection by HIV-1, thus helping to prevent drug resistance or at least the rate of virus adaptation to other coreceptors. The 10 chapters cover: "Virus Evolution and Structure," "Receptors and Virus Infections," "HIV," "The HIV Envelope Glycoprotein," "HIV Receptors," "The Fusion Cofactors/Coreceptors," "The HIV-1 Coreceptors: Identification, Biological Function and Structure," "Receptor-Mediated HIV Entry," "HIV-1 Tropism and Pathogenesis," and "Biomedical Implications." This is a highly technical book intended for the researcher. Recommended for all medical libraries. 780. Troubling the Angels: Women Living with HIV/AIDS, by Patti Lather, Chris Smithies. 1997. Westview Press, 5500 Central Ave., Boulder, CO 80301-2877. 252p., bibliog. ISBN 0-8133-9016-8. $15.00. (Descriptors: Sex Factors, Women, Diseases) This is a unique book that is a must-read in today's world of AIDS. Women are quickly becoming the majority of HIV positive individuals in the world, yet we know far less about their plight than we do that of the men. It has been only in the last couple of years that researchers have started focusing on women with AIDS. Lather and Smithies have written a fascinating book that will make you stop and think about AIDS even more than you have before. They have observed and chronicled several AIDS support groups for women where the individuals were from many backgrounds--black, Latina, poor, and middle class. "This book explores the cultural meanings and social ramifications of the experiences and understandings of a particular grouping of women who live with the disease." It is the hope that the book will support, inform, and trouble all those who read it. By pointing the finger at death, survival and self-determination, there is the chance that these stories will make a better life for others who are HIV positive. The group interviews occurred from 1992-1993, well before many of the treatments of today that are having great success. The groups usually met in the evenings and were always "marked by laughter, tears, self-disclosures, AIDS jokes, disagreements, hugs, and breaks for pizza." There were 25 women between the ages of 23 and 49 who participated in the interviews. Four were Hispanic, five African-American, and sixteen white; thirteen are mothers and six are grandmothers. Although the focus of the book is on the interviews, Lather and Smithies have provided a running commentary across the bottom of most of the book. Also, interspersed throughout the book are factoid boxes that contain information about AIDS and poems, letters, speeches and e-mails by and from many of the women. This is a highly recommended book for all libraries and should be a must-read by all HIV positive women. There is hope but there is still a long way to go before we can say that the fight is won. For women, the fight seems to just now be picking up steam. 781. AIDS: Choices for Life, by Carol Rust Nash. 1997. Enslow Publishers, 44 Fadem Road, Box 699, Springfield, NJ 07081. 112p., illus., bibliog., index. (Issues in Focus). ISBN 0-89490-903-7. $18.95. (Descriptors: Juvenile Literature) Reaching our young people with education about HIV/AIDS has improved but there still is resistance by those who feel that they are socially, morally, and politically correct in denying some types of AIDS education in our schools. It is every U.S. citizen's responsibility to educate our young about safer sex and the perils that come when one does not practice safer sex. This book is an excellent book for teens providing personal stories by young people, historical information about the virus and how it is transmitted, information on protecting yourself, and an excellent account of current research. The book is very open and discusses all aspects of safer sex from abstinence to the use of condoms. Highly recommended for all libraries. It should be required reading by all teens. 782. Positive Life: Portraits of Women Living with HIV, interviews by River Huston, photographs by Mary Berridge. 1997. Running Press Book Publishers, 125 S 22nd St, Philadelphia, PA 19103-4399. 118p., color illus. ISBN 0-7624-0198-2, 0-7624-0244-Xpbk. $24.95, $17.95pbk. (Descriptors: Women, Biographies) Huston and Berridge have compiled an excellent collection of interviews and photographs of 30 HIV-positive women. The photographs are remarkable in that they show the very human side of these women as they go about their everyday work. Many have children who, also, appear in some of the photographs. Berridge states: "I have tried to present the women I have photographed as honestly as I could--in their own environments--so that the specificity of their lives would be both palpable and realized." Huston has found that many people who are interviewed are often misquoted, misunderstood, or censored beyond all recognition. She vowed that her interviews would not fall into that mold. She wanted the voices of these women to be honored. "Quite simply, I would let them tell their stories, transcribe them, read them back, and pay the phone bills later." This is a beautiful book that is "a moving portrayal of strength, survival, and resolve. It is also a heartfelt message of hope and power for all women everywhere." Another highly recommended book for all libraries, beautifully photographed and beautifully written. 783. Policing Desire: Pornography, AIDS and the Media, 3rd edition by Simon Watney. 1996. University of Minnesota Press, 111 Third Ave. South, Ste 290, Minneapolis, MN 55401-2520. 172p., bibliog., index. (Media and Society). ISBN 0-8166-3024-0, 0-8166-3025-9pbk. $39.95, $16.95pbk. (Pornography, Social Aspects, Media) This book has become a key book that analyzes pornography, AIDS, and the media. The media many times makes statements out of context, stretches the truth, publishes mistruths, and creates panic. Watney has done an excellent job of pointing the finger where it should be pointed. He is angry that the media is constantly saying that needle exchange programs promote drug use and working with gays promotes homosexuality. The key British newspapers are always quick to point this out saying that taxpayer's money should not be used in this way. Watney quickly points out that gay taxpayers are dying of AIDS, also. Most of the third edition is the same as the second edition except for a new preface, a new concluding essay, and a directory of resources. The seven major chapters cover: "Sex, Diversity and Disease," "Infectious Desires," "Moral Panics," "AIDS, Pornography and Law," "AIDS and the Press," "AIDS on Television," and "Safer Representations." A recommended book for all public and academic libraries. 784. Falling Through the Cracks: AIDS and the Urban Poor, by Victor Ayala. 1996. Social Change Press, 38-15 Corporal Kennedy St., Bayside, NY 11361. 125p., bibliog., index. ISBN 0-9644437-0-8. $17.95. (Descriptors: Social Aspects, Poverty, Urban Poor) "Indigent AIDS patients are at the very bottom rungs of status in our affluent society. The medical personnel Ayala works with are also among the most beleaguered in the field." There is much written about the more affluent AIDS patients but very little about the poor who have AIDS. Ayala provides us with an insight of what it is like to be poor and have AIDS, be left for hours in a hospital hallway, having no one visit you while you are in the hospital, and dying alone. "This book attempts to correlate the urban poor to society as a whole. It underscores their right to humane, proper, and adequate medical treatment regardless of lifestyle, social-class status, stigmas, and the perceptions of health care professionals." A very interesting book that should provide much discussion. Recommended for all public, academic, and medical libraries. 785. Between the Sheets: Sexual Diaries and Gay Men's Sex in the Era of AIDS, by Anthony P. M. Coxon. 1996. Cassell, 127 W 24th St., New York, NY 10011. 205p., illus., bibliog., index. ISBN 0-304-33208-9. $17.95. (Descriptors: Gay Men, Social Aspects, Gay Sex) This book reports on the largest and most detailed longitudinal study of gay and bisexual men and AIDS in Europe and the only one that has emerged from the gay community. The Project was called SIGMA--Socio-sexual Investigations of Gay Men and AIDS. It describes gay and bisexual men's patterns of sexual activity and lifestyle, attitudes about safer sex and health matters, and focuses on the sexual diaries of gay men. The first part of the book gives background information, describing SIGMA and the method that was used to get the information. The second part delves into gay men's sex with six chapters covering: "The Equipment: Body-Image and Genitalia," "Who Does What...Gay Men's Sexual Behaviour," "...to whom and with what effect?: Sexual Role and Orgasm," "What's going on?: The Sexual Session," "Different Scenes: Public and Power Sex," and "The structure of Sexual Risk Behaviour." This is a very explicit book that reveals a great amount of information about gay sex, both safe and unsafe. Researchers will find it an excellent resource. Recommended for all academic libraries. 786. When AIDS Comes Home: Answers to the Most Commonly Asked Questions; What to Say, What to Do, and How to Live with AIDS, by Mignon M. Zylstra, David Biebel. 1996. Thomas Nelson Publishers, PO Box 141000, Nelson Place at Elm Hill Pike, Nashville, TN 37214-1000. 195p. ISBN 0-7852-7714-5. $12.99. (Descriptors: Miscellanea, Psychological Aspects, Social Aspects, Religious Aspects, Christianity) A small book that relates how one family has coped with AIDS, using their experiences to help others who are faced with family or friends who are dying of AIDS. It is a very compassionate and religious book that states: "Speaking for myself, I would say this. When I meet people with HIV/AIDS, it doesn't matter to me how they got it. All that matters is that they are human beings whom God loves so much and asks us to love too." It is a book for HIV/AIDS individuals as well as for their caregivers. Recommended for personal use and public libraries.