Matthew B. Flynn is an Assistant Professor of Sociology and International Studies at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, Georgia. His research focuses on the political economy of pharmaceuticals in contemporary society.
This wonderful book chronicles Brazil's efforts to expand access to AIDS drugs in the face of a challenging and, at times, unforgiving external environment. Flynn's detailed research, including extensive interviews with key players, shows how dynamic interaction between actors in the Brazilian state, civil society, and pharmaceutical industry contributed to the country's efforts to secure 'pharmaceutical autonomy.' Much has been written about Brazil's policies to combat HIV/AIDS. Flynn's book provides fresh insights with its focus on how activist health professionals (sanitaristas), gained prominence in key state agencies, and in doing so promoted a universalistic, comprehensive, and rights-based vision of health. -Ken Shadlen, London School of Economics