In 2023, I read Conduct Unbecoming, which hit a spark in me wanting to learn more about queer history, and I wanted to know more about the author with the fascinating name of Randy Shilts. I learned he'd written a book on Harvey Milk that was considered to be thee definitive biography (more or less), and that he'd also written a book on the AIDS epidemic after having reported on it for years.

I prefer to listen to my nonfiction, so I had been delighted to find the 40-hour long audiobook version of Conduct, but finding the audios of The Mayor of Castro Street and And the Band Played On proved a lot more difficult when Audible tightened its restrictions. So to the print copy it was.

And then while cruising NetGalley I saw that this was an ARC. Admittedly, I did not read my egalley beforehand, but my library picked up the audiobook on hoopla and I read it while also reading And the Band Played On.

Anywho, all this to say that Randy Shilts was a complicated, real life human. He was egotistical, arrogant and incredibly flawed, but he had a passion for investigative journalism and a desire to root out the truth in discriminatory practices and polices centering injustice in the gay community.

While his second novel, And the Band Played On has many glaring errors (many scientific errors and an obsession with Gaeton Dugas, aka the misnomered "Patient Zero"), Shilts brought national attention to the AIDS epidemic, particularly in the US government's absolute failure to do anything about it. The emphasis on Dugas as this Great Villain was not Shilts' intention; the book itself doesn't villainize Dugas (it doesn't paint him in a great picture), but his publisher wanted an angle that would prompt readers to buy the book. This angle damaged Dugas' memory and put harm on the gay community.

After his AIDS diagnosis, Shilts turned away from AIDS reporting (although not from the community, despite what his many critics said), and toward working on a book centering gay and lesbian military service members—a minority who had fallen between the cracks of the anti-war gay rights movement and the ultra conservative military leadership. Conduct is the book he considered to be his masterpiece, and it is a master work of reporting. It's a book that clearly influenced Bill Clinton, who somehow read that book and thought "oh, Don't Ask Don't Tell is a good compromise" instead of a complete failure of policy and politics.

I learned a lot about a person who has occupied more than his far share of my brain space, particularly for a man who has been dead over thirty years. Randy was a dick. He was brilliant. He was charismatic. He was opinionated. He cared deeply. He craved attention and fame. He used his platform to speak out for AIDS victims and the gay community, even if he didn't represent the majority of the gay community. He was pulled between conservative values and liberal mindsets. He was a polarizing figure who has mostly been forgotten by the crush of time. He was deeply human.

But one thing Shilts did was open the doors for queer journalists of today. He shined a spotlight on AIDS and queer military service. He got people talking critically about previously taboo subjects and how government policy impacts unwanted minority communities, I and that, I think, is good journalism.

I received an ARC from the publisher

A fantastic biography and a beautiful tribute to the life, times, and world of Randy Shilts. This biography does so many things well; Lee situates his subject in their own time and contextualizes the world as Shilts saw it. This book humanizes a deeply thoughtful person gone long before their time on Earth should have ended. The tragedy of his untimely death is made more raw and important by this book, and I implore all of you to pick this up and learn more about the journalist who helped humanize the victims of the AIDS epidemic to an unwitting American public that turned its back on the folks who fell victim to this most-terrible affliction.

Thank you to the author, NetGalley, and IPG | Chicago Review Press for this eARC in exchange for my review.

A fantastic biography of Randy Shilts, who wrote "And the Band Played On" - one of the most important books about the AIDS Crisis. I have read that book as well as "Mayor of Castro Street" about Harvey Milk and many articles he wrote for The Advocate, Bay Area Reporter,, etc. We learn about Randy as a son, brother, friend, employee, journalist, and lover. He was definitely a complicated person who could be prickly and yet tender towards friends and his dog. He had difficulty getting coverage for his book in the NY Times, so the publishers suggested the homophobic NY Post instead and pushed to Patient Zero myth that ended up demonizing one man (a French-Canadian Flight attendant) as the super-spreader "Typhoid Mary" of AIDS. This has been completely disproven (I saw a compelling and poignant documentary about him a few years ago that debunked this myth). As Randy reported on the push to close the bathhouses in San Francisco, just like Larry Kramer in NYC, he was villainized for this view, although in Randy's case he claims he was just reporting not expressing an opinion. The writing in this book is very good and kept my interest. I highly recommend this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and IPG | Chicago Review Press for an ARC and I voluntarily left this review.

I was a little confused by the fact this was first published in 1975. By my calculations Randy Shilts was only 24 years old.

In the 1980s Rolling Stone did a series of articles about HIV/AIDS and it was enlightening. When I finally got around to reading And The Band Played On in 2019 I was riveted and angry at how the government ignored the evidence and medical researchers acted irresponsibly, seemingly not caring for the patients but more from what they could gain personally.

When the Band Played On is a biography of Randy Shilts and while I learned more of what he did, how he became a prominent gay journalist I don't feel I really learned more about the man. I feel that with his death we lost a great writer and wonder what other things he would have explored and exposed.

Thank you to Netgalley and IPG - Chicago Review Press for providing me with a digital copy.

The comprehensive biography of journalists Randy Shilts. The author did not pull any punches presenting Randy warts and all. Reading this book brought back memories of the AIDs crisis, homophobia that existed and the governments failure to deal.with the AIDS crisis. I did not realize how much hate Randy dealt with from the gay community for his reporting and the call to close the bathhouse. I all found the reporting of patient zero fascinating.

Thank you to NetGalley for this e-copy of When the Band Played on by Michael G.Lee in exchange for a honest review..I remember in my early 20s reading Randy’s book “And the Band Played On “ which was an eye opener to a heterosexual person like me and a glimpse into the gay community and how AIDS was affecting its members.I learned so much from that book so I was very interested to read a book about its author, .Randy Shilts. Randy was a complicated and at sometimes troubled person who through his books helped gays find a place at the table.He helped educate the world about AIDS, about the prominent politician, Harvey Milk and helped change laws for gay servicemen and women.This book portrayed Randy as a honest human being who battled his own demons and who wasn’t perfect but tried to make the world a better place for the homosexual community.Very well researched.

This book is an interesting summary of the life and works of Shilts. It focuses on his activism, writing, and his life surrounding all of that. While it was interesting, there were definitely moments where I questioned the accuracy of what I was reading, considering everything seemed to be from a white, cis, male perspective (such as when the author claimed trans women sex workers were treated well in a certain jail). I think believe this book is an important read, and I accept the fact it was written a while ago, so I don’t expect it to be perfect. For when it was written, it does a good job of showing the struggles of the times for those involved in Shilts’ life. Thank you NetGalley for the arc.

"When the Band Played On" tells the story of the journalist behind one of the most influential non-fiction works of modern times.

Randy Shilts "And the Band Played On" became one of the first fact based source that exposed the masses to the AIDS crisis. He deftly personalized the science and the politics and the struggle.

But he remained a mystery, which is typical for most journalists, but now long after his death readers are getting a chance to meet the Shilts behind the book. What influenced his life, fed his passion and led him to become the voice he did for the gay community and beyond.

This book intricately weaves his personal diaries and interviews within the news of the time to help see the progression of his passions. We meet the human and the journalist.

It's a well deserved profile of a groundbreaking man and his legacy.

I learned a lot about Randy Shilts in this biography, I really didn’t know anything about Randy Shilts and was glad I got to read this. It was great to read the interviews and how the narrative worked overall. Michael G. Lee has a strong writing style and was able to bring Randy to life in this and can’t wait for more from Michael G. Lee.