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J. Blake Scott, RISKY RHETORIC: AIDS AND THE CULTURAL PRACTICES OF HIV TESTING. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 2003; pp. 320, $55.00 hardcover, ISBN: 0809324946.
Elwood (1999) wrote in the introduction to the book he edited, Power in the Blond: A Handbook on AIDS, Politics, and Communication, that even though there have been many studies completed regarding issues related to AIDS "we are still trying to find the right messages to send" (p. 6). Scott has written a fascinating volume that addresses the cultural and political practices of HIV testing in order to determine what messages these practices are sending to society and, ultimately, what possibly might be the right messages. His is the first book-length study published on the rhetorical and cultural practices of the history of HIV testing in the United States. Using his background as a rhetorical and cultural critic, Scott develops an approach not only to...