The authors present a holistic overview of what doctors have learned about HIV/AIDS, and identifies why so many HIV prevention schemes have failed.

1. Introduction: Learning from HIV/AIDS: from multidisciplinary to interdisciplinarity George Ellison, Melissa Parker and Cathy Campbell; 2. HIV and the evolution of infectious diseases Janice Hutchinson; 3. The epidemiology of HIV/AIDS: contributions to infectious disease epidemiology Azra Ghani and Marie-Claude Boily; 4. The influence of HIV/AIDS on demography and demographic research Simon Gregson; 5. What have clinicians learnt from working with HIV/AIDS? A medical perspective from London Chris Wood and George Ellison; 6. How has the HIV/AIDS pandemic contributed to our understandings of behaviour change and health promotion? Catherine Campbell and Flora Cornish; 7. Anthropological reflections on HIV prevention strategies: the case for targeting London's backrooms. Melissa Parker; 8. An absence of anthropology: critical reflections on anthropology and AIDS policy and practice in Africa Suzette Heald; 9. A disaster with no name: the HIV/AIDS pandemic and the limits of governance Alex de Waal; 10. Postscript: Reflections on HIV/AIDS and history Shula Marks.