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As HIV continues its death march around the globe, now infecting 40 million people, an AIDS vaccine still remains an elusive goal. When scientists first proved in 1984 that HIV causes AIDS, a vaccine race quickly spun into action with high hopes that the world would soon have a means to stop this modern plague. But today the race to develop an AIDS vaccine more closely resembles a crawl. Jon Cohen, a leading AIDS reporter, tells how the forces inside and outside the world of science have hindered the AIDS vaccine search. He reveals the complicated obstacles that stymie researchers, the uncertain marketplace that confronts pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, the haphazard political response, and the ethical dilemmas that give pause to everyone involved. He goes behind the scenes at academic labs, companies, government agencies, scientific meetings, and investment houses to document how promising leads go nowhere as scientists jump from one fashionable idea to the next. Beyond a critique of the current methods and strategies, this book also offers specific recommendations for accelerating AIDS vaccine research.