Howard Lune is associate professor of Sociology at Hunter College, CUNY.

• Chapter 1 Introduction: Boundaries and BordersChapter 2 Formal and Informal Responses, 1981-1991Chapter 3 A New Field of WorkChapter 4 Collective Identity and Re-organizationChapter 5 HIV/AIDS, Drug Use, and Zero Tolerance, 1985-1990Chapter 6 The ACT UP YearsChapter 7 A New State-Centered StrategyChapter 8 Urban Action NetworksChapter 9 Afterword

This is a fascinating study of one of the most important and tragic public health events of our generation. It traces the trajectory of the struggle over the definition of AIDS, the slow institutional response, and the dynamics of "blocked action" and finally "getting action" through the medium of action networks. It is a brilliant combination of detached observation and compassionate understanding - a must read for the activist insiders and a lesson for the rest of us watching a crisis unfold and wondering how to react.

Howard Lune is associate professor of Sociology at Hunter College, CUNY.

• Chapter 1 Introduction: Boundaries and BordersChapter 2 Formal and Informal Responses, 1981-1991Chapter 3 A New Field of WorkChapter 4 Collective Identity and Re-organizationChapter 5 HIV/AIDS, Drug Use, and Zero Tolerance, 1985-1990Chapter 6 The ACT UP YearsChapter 7 A New State-Centered StrategyChapter 8 Urban Action NetworksChapter 9 Afterword

This is a fascinating study of one of the most important and tragic public health events of our generation. It traces the trajectory of the struggle over the definition of AIDS, the slow institutional response, and the dynamics of "blocked action" and finally "getting action" through the medium of action networks. It is a brilliant combination of detached observation and compassionate understanding - a must read for the activist insiders and a lesson for the rest of us watching a crisis unfold and wondering how to react.

Howard Lune is associate professor of Sociology at Hunter College, CUNY.

• Chapter 1 Introduction: Boundaries and BordersChapter 2 Formal and Informal Responses, 1981-1991Chapter 3 A New Field of WorkChapter 4 Collective Identity and Re-organizationChapter 5 HIV/AIDS, Drug Use, and Zero Tolerance, 1985-1990Chapter 6 The ACT UP YearsChapter 7 A New State-Centered StrategyChapter 8 Urban Action NetworksChapter 9 Afterword

This is a fascinating study of one of the most important and tragic public health events of our generation. It traces the trajectory of the struggle over the definition of AIDS, the slow institutional response, and the dynamics of "blocked action" and finally "getting action" through the medium of action networks. It is a brilliant combination of detached observation and compassionate understanding - a must read for the activist insiders and a lesson for the rest of us watching a crisis unfold and wondering how to react.