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Impure science: AIDS, activism and the politics of knowledge
S. EPSTEIN
Berkeley: University of California Press,
1996
479 pp., L13.95
Impure science, by Steven Epstein traces the history of AIDS until 1995 in relation to two main features of biomedical knowledge: the discovery of the virus and treatment. In the examination of these two linked components, Epstein develops his central idea that HIV science is different and possibly emblematic of the incursions of lay interests in the construction of science.
The book has a US focus except where the history has been influenced by actors or events from elsewhere. The analysis is based on scientific texts, science journalism, mainstream media, conferences, meetings and related fora and interviews with 30 researchers, activists and policy-makers.
Epstein has a flair for detail and easy style so that his account is both encyclopaedic and illuminating. He follows the chronology of AIDS, broken down into short sections corresponding with key periods, events or struggles with meaning. There are two main sections of the book. Section One follows the search for the causative agent of AIDS and its construction in scientific discourse. Section Two deals with treatments research and the involvement of activists. This account stops prior to the Vancouver Conference in 1996 and the uptake of protease inhibitor combination therapy. In this respect the history is incomplete. However, Epstein's documentation and analysis is so exhaustive that the main point of his book is...