The End of Innocence: Britain in the Time of AIDS, Simon Garfield

Description

The End of Innocence
by Simon Garfield
with a new introduction by Russell T Davies
Paperback | March 8, 2022

How does a country respond when a virus spreads faster than truth, compassion, or political will?

In The End of Innocence, award-winning journalist Simon Garfield delivers a gripping, meticulously reported account of the early AIDS crisis in Britain. As HIV infections mounted throughout the early 1980s, confusion, stigma, and government inaction combined with fear and misinformation, creating a public health disaster whose consequences would echo for decades. By the time British authorities fully grasped the scale of the crisis, tens of thousands had already been infected.

Garfield examines how political hesitation, moral panic, and prejudice—particularly toward gay men—shaped the national response. Through interviews with doctors, activists, policymakers, and those living with HIV, he reconstructs a moment when lives were lost not only to a virus, but to silence, denial, and delay. The book traces the tensions between science and politics, public health and public opinion, revealing how deeply social attitudes influenced medical outcomes.

Clear-eyed, humane, and unflinching, The End of Innocence is both a historical document and a warning. This updated edition includes a new introduction by Russell T Davies and an afterword by the author, underscoring the book’s continuing relevance in conversations about public health, marginalization, and governmental responsibility.

A landmark work of AIDS history, it remains an essential read for understanding how fear and stigma can shape policy—and how communities resist being erased.

This title is a remainder, offered at half the original cover price. Remainder copies are new and unread, but may show minor shelf wear.