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After conducting and recording 52 interviews and exhaustively reviewing primary source materials and a wealth of literature on the subject, McKay (Univ. of Cambridge) successfully corrects the record regarding the so-called "patient zero" of the AIDS epidemic. Gaetan Dugas, a French Canadian transatlantic Air Canada flight attendant who died of AIDS in 1984, was widely believed to be the individual who first introduced the human immunodeficiency virus into the United States and Canada. The author explains the misuse and misunderstanding of the term "patient zero," discusses different origin theories covering central Africa and Haiti, and examines the social and cultural aspects of the early North American AIDS epidemic from approximately 1981 to 1996. Particularly powerful are his critiques of R. Shilts's often-cited bestseller And the Band Played On (1987), which depicted Dugas as an extremely promiscuous, even malicious, conduit of the disease. McKay also humanizes Dugas by presenting the perspectives of his friends, colleagues, former lover, healthcare providers, and others. The text contains detailed footnotes on almost every page, selected black-and-white photographs, a list of oral history interviews, and an extensive bibliography and index. This is an authoritative, corrective resource on the early history of the AIDS epidemic.Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals.