*#REDIRECT [[HIV/AIDS denialism #North America and Europe]] ▼{{fringe theories}}
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{{Infobox book | <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Books -->
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| name = The AIDS War: Propaganda, Profiteering and Genocide from the Medical-Industrial Complex
| image = The AIDS War.jpg
| caption = Cover
| author = [[John Lauritsen]]
| country = United States
| language = English
| subject = [[HIV/AIDS|AIDS]]
| publisher = Asklepios
| pub_date = 1993
| media_type = Print ([[Paperback]])
| pages = 479
| isbn = 978-0943742083
}}
'''''The AIDS War: Propaganda, Profiteering and Genocide from the Medical-Industrial Complex''''' is a 1993 work about the politics of [[HIV/AIDS]] by [[AIDS denialist]]<ref name="Kalichman2009">{{cite book|author=Seth C. Kalichman|title=Denying AIDS: Conspiracy Theories, Pseudoscience, and Human Tragedy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_mtDBCDwxugC&pg=PA184|date=16 January 2009|publisher=Springer Science & Business Media|isbn=978-0-387-79476-1|pages=184–}}</ref> [[John Lauritsen]], in which the author argues against the idea that [[HIV]] causes AIDS. Lauritsen calls the HIV theory of AIDS "preposterous" and "the most colossal blunder in medical history." The book consists partly of articles previously published in gay magazines and partly of new material; it includes an abridged version of a 1987 interview with molecular biologist [[Peter Duesberg]], which had first been published in full in the ''[[New York Native]]''.
==Summary==
''The AIDS War'', published by Lauritsen's own press, consists partly of articles previously published by Lauritsen in the gay magazines ''[[New York Native]]'', ''[[Christopher Street (magazine)|Christopher Street]]'', and ''[[Philadelphia Gay News]]'', and partly of new material. Lauritsen calls the HIV theory of AIDS "preposterous" and "the most colossal blunder in medical history." He states that he began to research AIDS in 1983, and was "shocked by the incompetence with which the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) conducted [[survey research]], my own profession since 1966."{{sfn|Lauritsen|1993|pages=9, 10–11}}
Lauritsen covers topics ranging from [[Zidovudine|AZT]] to the death of ballet superstar [[Rudolf Nureyev]] from AIDS, and provides an abridged version of a 1987 interview with molecular biologist Peter Duesberg, which had first been published in full in the ''New York Native''. He is highly critical of the AIDS scientist [[Robert Gallo]], accusing him of being unable to defend the mainstream view that HIV causes AIDS. He argues that AIDS is not a "coherent, single disease entity" since it "has neither symptoms nor diagnostic criteria that are peculiar to itself", and that the conditions classified as AIDS have different causes in different risk groups and individuals. He points to [[Drug injection|intravenous drug use]], [[Sexually transmitted infection|venereal disease]], [[antibiotic]] use, and psychological factors as examples of the health risks responsible for causing these conditions. He presents his views on how people diagnosed with AIDS should respond, arguing that they should try to determine "exactly how and why" they are sick, "expect health", and adopt a healthy way of life, including ensuring good nutrition, refraining from the use of recreational drugs, quitting smoking, and avoiding venereal disease.{{sfn|Lauritsen|1993|pages=45, 67, 68, 71, 88, 179–211, 213–236}}
He discusses the AIDS activist [[Larry Kramer]], giving him credit for exposing problems in the gay community with his "disgusting, and very funny" novel ''[[Faggots (novel)|Faggots]]'' (1978), but criticizing him for inhibiting open discussion of AIDS science. He criticizes the idea that AIDS originated in Africa, or that it reached the United States via Haiti, a view promoted for example by the gay rights activist [[Dennis Altman]] in ''AIDS in the Mind of America'' (1986).{{sfn|Lauritsen|1993|pages=339–353, 445}}
==Publication history==
''The AIDS War'' was first published in 1993 by Asklepios, a subsidiary of Pagan Press.{{sfn|Lauritsen|1993|page=4}}
==Reception==
===Reviews===
''The AIDS'' war received positive reviews from Jerry Terranova in ''Praxis'',{{sfn|Terranova|1993}} Jule Klotter in the ''[[Townsend Letter|Townsend Letter for Doctors]]'',{{sfn|Klotter|1994}} Mike Chapelle in ''[[The Bloomsbury Review]]'',{{sfn|Chapelle|1994}} Christopher DeCenzo in ''[[The Cornell Review]]'',{{sfn|DeCenzo|1995}} and the chemist [[Henry H. Bauer]] in ''Virginia Scholar''.{{sfn|Bauer|1996}}
Terranova wrote that the book was "painstakingly documented and referenced", grounded in Lauritsen's "solid knowledge of survey research protocol", and "presented in a tone that is fair, sane, and reasonable." He agreed with "the vast majority of material" in the book.{{sfn|Terranova|1993}} Klotter wrote that the book was, "journalism at its finest; it is well written, and shows a deep regard for digging up truth."{{sfn|Klotter|1994}} Chapelle credited Lauritsen with a "thorough investigation of an ugly (although, unfortunately, not unique) episode in the history of biomedical research" and wrote that no one who reads ''The AIDS War'' "will think about the 'dread disease' of our time in quite the same way ever again".{{sfn|Chapelle|1994}} DeCenzo wrote that Lauritsen "exposes the countless misleading statistics" which have driven the search for a cure for AIDS "far enough off course to render useless the astronomically huge amount of funding annually spent on AIDS research."{{sfn|DeCenzo|1995}} Bauer wrote that those wanting to read only one book on AIDS should read ''The AIDS War''.{{sfn|Bauer|1996}}
===Evaluations in books===
Duesberg, writing in ''Why We Will Never Win The War on AIDS'' (1994) with co-author Bryan J. Ellison, credited Lauritsen with exposing "the cozy relationships between AIDS organizations and the pharmaceutical industry", commenting that most of ''The AIDS War'' is "a personal story, documenting the fight against HIV as seen by someone on the front lines."{{sfn|Duesberg|Ellison|2006}}
The neuroscientist [[Simon LeVay]], writing in ''City of Friends'' (1995) with co-author Elisabeth Nonas, dismissed ''The AIDS War'' as one of many books that group together the medical profession and the [[pharmaceutical industry]] for purposes of blame, adding that like other books of this nature its title is "sufficiently explicit to make further perusal unnecessary".{{sfn|LeVay|Nonas|1995|page=244}}
==See also==
▲* [[HIV/AIDS denialism]]
==References==
===Footnotes===
{{reflist|20em}}
===Bibliography===
;Books
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last1=Lauritsen|first1=John |title=The AIDS War: Propaganda, Profiteering and Genocide from the Medical-Industrial Complex |publisher=Pagan Press |location=New York |year=1993 |isbn=0-943742-08-0 |oclc= |doi= |ref=harv}}
* {{cite book |last1=LeVay|first1=Simon |last2=Nonas|first2=Elisabeth |title=City of Friends: A Portrait of the Gay and Lesbian Community in America |publisher=[[MIT Press]] |location=Cambridge, Massachusetts |year=1995 |isbn=0262121948 |oclc= |doi= |ref=harv}}
{{refend}}
;Online articles
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite web |last1=Bauer|first1=Henry H. |url = http://paganpressbooks.com/TAW-HB.HTM | title = Review of The AIDS War |date=April 1996 |work=Virginia Scholar |accessdate = 26 July 2015 |ref=harv}}
* {{cite web |last1=Chappelle|first1=Mike |url = http://paganpressbooks.com/TAWREV1.HTM | title = Review of The AIDS War |date=January-February 1994 |work=The Bloomsbury Review |accessdate = 22 September 2015 |ref=harv}}
* {{cite web |last1=DeCenzo|first1=Christopher |url = http://paganpressbooks.com/TAW-CDC.HTM | title = Thoughtless Compassion: Promoting The AIDS Myth |date=January 9, 1995 |work=The Cornell Review |accessdate = 27 September 2015 |ref=harv}}
* {{cite web |last1=Duesberg|first1=Peter |last2=Ellison|first2=Bryan |url = http://www.virusmyth.com/aids/data2/jlbio.htm | title = Biography of John Lauritsen |date=April 1996 |work=Virusmyth.com |accessdate = 12 November 2013 |ref=harv}}
* {{cite web |last1=Klotter|first1=Jule |url = http://paganpressbooks.com/TAW-JK.HTM | title = Battling for Truth |date=January 9, 1995 |work=Townsend Letter for Doctors |accessdate = 2 October 2015 |ref=harv}}
* {{cite web |last1=Terranova|first1=Jerry |url = http://paganpressbooks.com/TAWREV2.HTM | title = Review of The AIDS War |date=January 9, 1995 |work=Praxis |accessdate = 29 September 2015 |ref=harv}}
{{refend}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:AIDS War}}
[[Category:1993 books]]
[[Category:Books by John Lauritsen]]
[[Category:English-language books]]
[[Category:HIV/AIDS denialist books]]
[[Category:HIV/AIDS in literature]]
[[Category:Pagan Press books]]
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