It Was Vulgar and It Was Beautiful: How AIDS Activists Used Art to Fight a Pandemic chronicles the work of Gran Fury, the fleeting AIDS advocacy group best known for coining the slogan Silence = Death. Jack Lowery takes the time to introduce us to each of the eleven main members of the group, and details the brainstorming and promotion of each piece they published before ultimately dissolving after years of infighting. The parts I enjoyed the most were when we learned about how people were coping with the disease itself, but that was secondary to the focus on Gran Fury's work.

If The Normal Heart was compatible with And The Band Plays On, then It Was Vulgar and It Was Beautiful overlaps most with How to Survive a Plague (although Larry Kramer is featured in all of them). Beginning in the late-80s, It Was Vulgar and It Was Beautiful expresses none of the sympathy for healthcare workers and scientists that Randy Shilts' doorstopper did, and takes a particularly harsh view of the government. This is all understandable, but it does create a certain tunnel vision within the book (for instance, why doesn't anyone ever mention the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which happened while Gran Fury was in operation?).

Nevertheless, It Was Vulgar and It Was Beautiful is a good resource for a portion of history that is often overlooked, while also being fluid enough to function as a recreational read. I am glad that I read it, even if I often felt disconnected from the central characters.

Thank you for access to this book via giveaway! I enjoyed being able to check it out and have actually used it in a lesson I designed to bridge STEAM field access to queer-identifying teens, and both I and they all loved it. I also told friends about it who would be interested in the premise. Thanks for the opportunity to learn more!

As someone who came of age as AIDS was taking hold, it is sometimes painful to remember the fear, distrust, and hate that occurred in the 1980s and early 1990s. I used to watch as activists fought to get care for patients, and reading the history of it was a powerful reminder of the power of people working towards a common goal. This is a very well-written, well-researched book.

The history of the LGBTQ+ community goes back much further than the twentieth century, but the AIDS crisis that took place in the Western world stands tall as a period during which morality was weaponized against others suffering from an unknown virus and seen as a stigma against so-called "Christian" values. Many people stepped up to help and heal in a time when avoidance was widely accepted. Artists were one of these groups of individuals who provided a look into such a terrifying and troubling time.

A fascinating and important story, and a good entry point for a lot of other reading and research into the AIDs crisis, ACT UP, and Gran Fury. A thorough but very engaging read—I finished it in record time for non-fiction, which I usually struggle to get through.

Thanks to Bold Type Books and NetGalley for the free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

It Was Vulgar and It Was Beautiful details the activity and activism of Gran Fury, an art collective formed to fight back during the AIDS crisis. This book gets into the details of membership, relationships, and the art created by this group. I found it so interesting, but of course heartbreaking. It's devastating to read about people fighting so, so hard for treatments and cures from governments and doctors who didn't care enough to make it happen. It's also heartbreaking to read about members testing positive and slowly succumbing to disease.

While this book could slow down at times, it really encompassed the activity of this group and taught me a lot. Some of the art I'd seen, some of the members I'd heard about, but is such a good comprehensive look. I'm so glad I read it.

This was an excellent book on the history of the AIDS crisis. It recounts the different ways that art was used and includes images of the art used. It describes the processes that they took to create the art. The writing was great and provided a lot of insight into the activism and the attitudes of the people during the crisis. This was a fascinating and well written account.

I would like to thank Bold Type Books for providing me with an ARC.

An absolutely riveting historical examination. I highly recommend gathering your feelings (sadness , rage & curiosity) and settling in for an incredibly important close up perusal of queer history. Important, thoughtful and at times incredibly hard to read - in the way that all great books are.