And John’s presentation of facts about the twin contagion of AIDS and HIV is quite good. Okay, let’s make certain that the positives are up front. As John states, all he hopes to accomplish is to “tell stories that connect people with this epidemic, so we can work together to end it.” Both aspects are interesting, and often even compelling, but is it a pleasant summertime read? Not in the same way a Ludlum novel gives you thrills, but the message of love does come through loud and clear, and it is actually rather exciting to realize that the final result in the battle is in our hands. The book is constantly veering from the calamitous to the celebratory and back again. Why? Ignorance, prejudice, fear, hatred, condescension, and evil. Using governmental reports, anecdotal evidence, and information from many healthcare foundations and coalitions, John demonstrates that we are much closer than we thought to winning the fight against HIV/AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome). “For all the progress being made in expanding HIV treatment around the world,” John writes about the human immunodeficiency virus, “it is still the case that not even half of the 14.2 million people in low- and middle-income countries in need of antiretroviral therapy received it in 2010.” The big shame about the book is that it needed to be written at all. As for the twenty-eight buck list price, don’t sweat that, either, because book sales will benefit the Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF), whose efforts form the primary impetus for the work.

Not that the brevity is a problem as long as you don’t expect the book to last through your whole weekend.

That’s the word to describe Love is the Cure, the short book or longish magazine article (it’s about 50,000 words) from musician Elton John. REVIEW: Written from the heart, Elton John’s “ Love is the Cure” will confound those expecting to read about his musical career but in discussing AIDS and the work of foundations seeking to eradicate the disease, John has created a valuable document. Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share on Pinterest Share on LinkedIn Share on Email

Love is the cure elton john