or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
 
More Buying Choices
24 used & new from £4.26
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
The Invisible Cure: Africa, the West and the Fight Against AIDS
 
 
Share your own customer images
Search inside this book

The Invisible Cure: Africa, the West and the Fight Against AIDS (Paperback)

by Helen Epstein (Author)
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
RRP: £9.99
Price: £6.99 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
You Save: £3.00 (30%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk. Gift-wrap available.

Want guaranteed delivery by Tuesday, November 17? Choose Express delivery at checkout. See Details
20 new from £4.26 4 used from £4.29
Other Editions: RRP: Our Price: Other Offers:
Hardcover £16.99 £14.44 7 used & new from £11.43
Paperback (Reprint) 8 used & new from £7.34

Frequently Bought Together

The Invisible Cure: Africa, the West and the Fight Against AIDS + Status Syndrome: How Your Social Standing Directly Affects Your Health + Unhealthy Societies: The Afflictions of Inequality
Price For All Three: £40.69

Show availability and delivery details

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Status Syndrome: How Your Social Standing Directly Affects Your Health

Status Syndrome: How Your Social Standing Directly Affects Your Health

by Michael Marmot
5.0 out of 5 stars (1)  £7.99
Unhealthy Societies: The Afflictions of Inequality

Unhealthy Societies: The Afflictions of Inequality

by Richard G. Wilkinson
5.0 out of 5 stars (1)  £25.71
The Wisdom of Whores: Bureaucrats, Brothels and the Business of AIDS

The Wisdom of Whores: Bureaucrats, Brothels and the Business of AIDS

by Elizabeth Pisani
5.0 out of 5 stars (5)  £12.08
Theory in a Nutshell: A Guide to Health Promotion Theory

Theory in a Nutshell: A Guide to Health Promotion Theory

by Don Nutbeam
£12.99
HIV/AIDS: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)

HIV/AIDS: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)

by Alan Whiteside
4.5 out of 5 stars (2)  £4.76
› Explore similar items

Product details

Product Description

Review

Some of the scenes that the author describes would be hilarious were they satirical rather than real. An important contribution to the literature of AIDS (Spectator )

A serious attempt to understand the epidemiology of thoughtfulness, as well as that of HIV. Epstein wants to know why clarity and honesty, as well as human lives, so often become casualties of AIDS (New Statesman )

Practical, concrete and full of hard information ... Epstein's scientific background, lucidity of expression and habit of wide-ranging inquiry lend authority and accessibility (London Review of Books )

Her subject – it soon becomes clear – is not just the nature of one virus, but of humankind (Philip Gourevitch )

Like travelling into remote and hard-to-comprehend territory with an unblinking and sure-footed guide (The New York Times )


Prospect

'One of the best recent books on the HIV/AIDS epidemic. A vital exposition'
See all Product Description
Inside This Book (Learn More)
Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Search inside this book:

Suggested Tags from Similar Products

 (What's this?)
Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
 
(3)
(3)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

The Invisible Cure: Africa, the West and the Fight Against AIDS
79% buy the item featured on this page:
The Invisible Cure: Africa, the West and the Fight Against AIDS 4.0 out of 5 stars (2)
£6.99
The Wisdom of Whores: Bureaucrats, Brothels and the Business of AIDS
7% buy
The Wisdom of Whores: Bureaucrats, Brothels and the Business of AIDS 5.0 out of 5 stars (5)
£12.08
HIV/AIDS: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)
7% buy
HIV/AIDS: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions) 4.5 out of 5 stars (2)
£4.76
AIDS in the Twenty-First Century: Disease and Globalization
4% buy
AIDS in the Twenty-First Century: Disease and Globalization 4.7 out of 5 stars (3)
£15.29
Explore similar items
 

Customer Reviews

2 Reviews
5 star:
 (1)
4 star:    (0)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.0 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Clear Thinking About Slowing the AIDS Epidemic in Africa, 21 Jul 2007
By Professor Donald Mitchell "Jesus Makes Me a P... (Boston) - See all my reviews
(TOP 10 REVIEWER)      
This review is from: The Invisible Cure: Africa, the West, and the Fight Against AIDS (Hardcover)
We have been overwhelmed by bad information about what causes AIDS to be so much more prevalent in the eastern and southern parts of Africa than elsewhere in the world. Even though more money than ever is being directed to stopping this epidemic, that money is hardly ever being spent for a helpful purpose. Helen Epstein carefully describes what she learned on site in Africa about what the primary problems really are and how best to deal with those problems . . . rather than the problems that politicians and NGOs want to address. Millions of lives are at stake: Please read what Ms. Epstein has to say and share what you learn with others.

So what's different about people in eastern and southern Africa that makes AIDS so much larger a risk there?

1. Men are much less likely to be circumcised. Circumcion cuts infection risk dramatically.

2. Although the people in that part of the world have no more (and often fewer) sexual partners over a life time, these people are more likely to be active with more than one sexual partner at a time. That habit causes those who become infected to spread the disease much faster and further.

What can be done?

Uganda (once the area most affected by AIDS) provides the answer: Make sure everyone knows that AIDS risk is there for everyone who is a drug user and shares needles, or has sex with anyone who has more than one partner without using a condom. The public in general, and politicians as well, like to paint AIDS as being a problem limited to homosexuals, sex workers, and promiscuous people. But in places like eastern and southern Africa, those who monogamous can be almost equally at risk. In fact, Uganda doesn't use these good policies any more ("No Grazing") because fighting AIDS has gone from being a local activity to being a national policy.

Ms. Epstein reports in detail how local initiatives to get the correct information out can make a big difference (saving an estimated one million lives in Uganda). National and international initiatives seem to waste almost all of the money (as she points out in several examples).

By not paying attention to what works and what doesn't, country leaders and international NGO leaders run the risk of making everyone feel like everything is being done . . . when the wrong things are being done. As a result, millions will die.

It's a sad story of how everyone wants to help, but they see the problem as being like the nail in the eye of a carpenter. You hit the nail to solve the problem. Drug companies want to develop vaccines. Condom makers want to sell condoms. Churches want to preach sexual abstinence. Politicians want to ignore the frequency of rape, casual sex, and cheating among married people. Individuals want to believe they are safe because they know the people they have sex with. But most of these nails don't make much difference.

Let's start hitting the right nail!
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
3.0 out of 5 stars Still no cure, 19 Feb 2009
By Mr. Michael Kay (UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
Working and living with HIV I read a lot of books on the subject. This book focuses on the problems faced in tackling the pandemic on a global scale, then concentrating on the issues that Africa experience and the failings of governments in handling the situation well. Honest and interesting book, but heavy reading at times and on a similar theme to Elizabeth Pisani's book "The Wisdom Of Whores" which I preferred as it is more inciteful and has a humour that lifts the subject.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
   
Related forums

Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Look for similar items by subject












i.e., each product must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...

Feedback

Ad

Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.