This article was downloaded by: [University of Cambridge]On: 08 October 2014, At: 13:08Publisher: RoutledgeInforma Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH,UK

The Professional GeographerPublication details, including instructions forauthors and subscription information:http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rtpg20

A Review of “HIV/AIDS GlobalFrontiers in Prevention/Intervention”Jason K. Blackburn aa Department of Geography , University of Florida ,Gainesville, FLPublished online: 12 Apr 2010.

To cite this article: Jason K. Blackburn (2010) A Review of “HIV/AIDS Global Frontiersin Prevention/Intervention”, The Professional Geographer, 62:2, 292-293, DOI:10.1080/00330121003600900

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00330121003600900

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292 Volume 62, Number 2, May 2010

from 1929 showing a motorist driving in thecountry attempting to view the scenery, yetwall-to-wall billboards hawking cigars, hotels,beer, and colas block his view.

The end of World War II becomes the au-tomobile’s tipping point, when it makes theleap from technological help to full agent of so-cial and economic change. As Americans cameback from World War II, the wages of sac-rifice and victory included an expansion ofindividualism and an automobile was the foun-dation for this. The handmaidens of the auto-mobile, including the billboards, conveniencestores, fast-food restaurants, urban sprawl, andtourist traps, are also extensions of the Amer-ican character. This is an egalitarian, middle-class character, processed and ground like theubiquitous hamburger. While the well-heeledtraveled the cobblestone streets of Europe orcruised on trans-Atlantic lines, all the whiledining in formality, middle-class Americanscould relax in their cars. The opinions of thewell-educated, such as that of Pierce F. Lewisin 1973 that “It’s hard to believe that themarketing of sandwiches which happen to bemade of meat (mostly) requires an environ-ment reminiscent of a defective . . . Wurlitzerjuke box, but American fast food restaurants arenearly always built that way,” serve to remindthe reader that this middle-class, automobileculture has always been decried by elites.

To be sure, the externalities of this lifestyleare great. Jakle and Sculle use their conclu-sion to remind us of the negative externali-ties associated with congestion, sprawl, and thetime associated with commuting, but they alsoremind the reader that the automobile gavenewfound mobility to women, especially in sub-urban America, allowing them to more fullyparticipate in the American economy and seekself-fulfillment between daily obligations. Theauthors also assert that they do not envisiona scenario in which Americans relinquish thisfreedom—a conclusion I share, as it is very diffi-cult to imagine anything other than a completeand total lack of any fuel source that would cur-tail American motoring.

Detailed statistics and grand social and eco-nomic theories are lacking—as they should bewith a book like this. However, as a light in-troduction into the history and effects of theAmerican love affair with the automobile, Jakleand Sculle have constructed a good read with

Motoring: The Highway Experience in America,covering the essential elements of the story ata level of detail that is more than adequate forthe vast majority of readers. Theorists will bedisappointed as the book is topical in sensibil-ity, but as with its inclusions of period comics,cartoons, and advertising, this makes the bookenjoyable reading, perhaps even at bedtime.Key Words: automobile, bus, gender, mobility.

HIV/AIDS Global Frontiers in Preven-tion/Intervention. Cynthia Pope, Renee T.White, and Robert Malow, eds. London andNew York: Routledge, 2009. xx and 572 pp.,maps, diagrams, photos, and index. $65.95paper (ISBN 978-0-415-9538-2).

Reviewed by Jason K. Blackburn, Depart-ment of Geography, University of Florida,Gainesville, FL.

The emergence, propagation, and mainte-nance of infectious diseases occur at the in-tersection(s) of multiple ecologies (human andenvironmental). For a disease to maintain atepidemic proportions in a human population,the landscape that supports these intersectionsrepresents a complicated interaction betweeninfectious agents (e.g., bacteria, viruses) andpopulations at risk framed by the political, so-cial, and natural and built environment wherethese populations reside. Because of this itis imperative to provide comprehensive andmultidisciplinary approaches to understandingsuch diseases that focus not only on where dis-eases occur, or the mechanics of how or when,but that also include methods for understand-ing why these diseases persist in these popu-lations and how these landscapes play a rolein that persistence. This is particularly true ofpandemic-scale diseases, such as HIV/AIDS,that require complex prevention, intervention,and support strategies that span the global cul-tural, economic, and political landscapes. Thiseffort, edited by Pope, White, and Malow, isjust such a comprehensive and interdisciplinaryapproach to understanding HIV/AIDS and itprovides a current and global perspective.

The book is a very well-organized volume ofworks divided into multiple sections that ad-dress a range of topics, each introduced witha comprehensive framing essay. The introduc-tory chapter provides an overview to the global

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Book Reviews 293

HIV/AIDS situation with a discussion on astructuralist approach to understanding the dis-ease. From here, the book includes an overviewof theories of harm reduction and risk; genderand sexuality associated risk; biomedicine andbehavioral interactions; an overview of newlyforming intervention and prevention strategies;policy and governmental responses to HIV;the role of the media in HIV communica-tion and prevention; an overview of popula-tions at risk from natural disasters and conflictand associated forced migration; an overviewof long-term care for HIV/AIDS patients; anda forward-looking section on globalization andHIV research and intervention in a changingworld. Each of these sections includes severalchapters that provide either a larger view of thedisease in the context of a particular compo-nent of transmission (such as drug use or sexualbehavior), prevention (such as specific mech-anisms for integrating gender-specific biologyinto control methods), social situation (genderand sexuality across the landscape from the Pa-cific to the former Soviet Union), or interven-tion and treatment strategies.

A number of key chapters focus on the role ofsociety and culture in complicating the preven-tion and intervention of HIV/AIDS. For exam-ple, chapter 5 focuses on the cultural situationthat leads to increased (community-sanctioned)sex trade activity in parts of India and the rolethis plays in increased incidence of HIV/AIDSin women and efforts to improve prevention inthese situations. Likewise, chapter 6 discussesthe history of HIV/AIDS in Ukraine and pro-vides a thorough overview of the disease inthat country and the numerous challenges thatexist in the post-Soviet era. Chapter 7 pro-vides much needed information on homosex-uality and the lack of homosexual acceptanceand the related HIV/AIDS situation in post-Soviet central Asia. Both of these chapters pro-vide a much needed description of the diseasein and the need for data sharing and contin-ued study. These chapters, along with severalothers, make this text arguably one of the mostup-to-date overviews of the HIV/AIDS situa-tion worldwide.

Other important topics include updates onthe relatively new programs aimed at broad-scale antiretroviral therapies. This section pro-vides a framing essay by S. G. Jones on the

evolution of drug therapy and the progressof combination drug therapy. The sectionthen goes on to discuss these therapies in thecontext of microbicides and gender, such aschapter 10, which acknowledges the increasedincidence of the disease in females and the needto understand both the physiology and behav-ior of women in better targeting drug treatmentand adherence to therapies. This is followedby a series of chapters that evaluate success-ful adherence to drug therapy programs andthe types of behaviors that promote adherence.Later sections in the text go on to investi-gate larger policy-level strategies for manag-ing the pandemic and discuss the complicationsbetween “cultural norms” and government-ledcampaigns across the world to promote preven-tion and intervention. These sections are alsocomplemented by an overview of the role of themedia in this disease and education and inter-vention campaigns.

One strength is the broad geographicoverview provided in the text. In addition tonew works from post-Soviet countries, thereare also several chapters that provide freshoverviews of the disease status and interventionefforts across much of Africa and several othercountries. Brazil, China, the American Southpost-Katrina, India, Ukraine, Central Asia, thePhilippines: The list goes on and with each casewe gain a better appreciation of the global con-nectedness of this disease and the internationalchallenges that face the global community tocombat the disease. Throughout the text, au-thors are discussing the intersections of pol-icy and drug therapy, gender and culture, andpolicy and local traditions. It is at these in-tersections that we will fully understand thisdisease and find appropriate local-level strate-gies to prevent future infections or interveneappropriately for those already infected andreduce the global burden of the disease. Inshort, this is an excellent text. Although it isfocused on a single disease, it is well orga-nized and dense enough to serve as secondarytext for any medical geography class. It shouldalso become standard reading for any cul-tural or social epidemiologists or health policyprofessionals.Key Words: disease, epidemiology, health pol-icy, HIV/AIDS, intervention, prevention, publichealth, social science.

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