Ed Williams

This hitherto ignored story of the confrontations and clashes of gay people with the FDA in the 1990s is critical to understanding the AIDS epidemic and the heroic achievements of the emerging LGBT community. As a younger gay man, I did not directly experience the history represented in this book and I appreciate the importance of capturing the detailed evolution of these watershed events. As recent as these events our in our modern LGBT history, to date the material that has been written about this time almost entirely represents the views of the noisy publicity seekers within our community who are ideologically allied with the far left. In a well documented but deeply personal first-hand account, Driscoll lays out the struggles of pragmatic San Francisco activists who waged battle behind the scenes in the halls of Congress and with a heartless FDA. This book vastly expands the AIDS activist narrative by showing how and why the most important and effective actions were initiated by libertarian activists from San Francisco, not woke New Yorkers as widely assumed, Driscoll shows his conservative roots by clearly demonstrating that the crucial issue for activism in the 1990’s was FDA drug approval, not drug pricing. It outlines the painful and delicate efforts of gay Log Cabin Republicans struggling to make a party traditionally biased against gay people act to save the lives of people with AIDS. It also illustrates the complicity of Democrats who were often (and still are) the recipients of federal largesse and supported FDA regulatory delay for political gain. Driscoll presents a compelling blend of personal anecdote and fact. It's clear that not only did he live these events, they had a profound impact on his life. You feel his passion and his pain as well as that of his friends and fellow activists. Driscoll's contribution to our history and the thousands of lives he likely saved by his efforts should not be forgotten. While history may very well be written by the victors, it is clear after reading this account that we have not yet won the war against government overreach and continue to pay the price.