Five Quarts: A Personal and Natural History of Blood

Five quarts is the amount of blood found in the human body shares author Bill Hayes.  And with that we begin tracing the history of blood.  From the gladiators of ancient Rome who would drink the blood of vanquishes foes to the introduction of hemophilia to European royalty, Hayes writes a fascinating look into blood.

Early advances like Antoni van Leeuwehoek's microscopes and Paul Ehrlich's Nobel prizing winning discoveries in immunology are included.  The author does wonderfully in explaining erythrocytes and lymphocytes to the layperson.  Hemoglobin will make sense after this.

Amid the mythology and musings, is the author's very personal story of his committed relationship with an HIV-positive partner.  He traces the discovery of the virus that causes AIDS and the early years of the AIDS scare.  The love for his partner and the frustration behind the lack of a cure for this disease is very clear.

As I see it, Five Quarts is an interesting read. I wish it were more history and less memoir; however, it is a lovely work and a beautiful homage to his partner.

Task 5: A book by or about someone that identifies as LGBTQ