Author: Allan M. Brandt
From Victorian
anxieties about syphilis to the current hysteria over herpes and AIDS, the history of venereal
disease in America forces us to examine social attitudes as well as purely medical concerns. In No Magic Bullet, Allan M. Brandt recounts the various medical, military, and publichealth responses that have arisen over the years-a broad spectrum that ranges from the incarceration of
prostitutes during World War I to the establishment of required premarital blood tests.Brandt demonstrates that Americans' concerns about venereal disease have centered around a set of social and cultural values related to sexuality, gender, ethnicity, and class. At the heart of our efforts to combat these…
