Siplon (political science, Saint Michael's College) identifies the three key factors of any policy formation analysis as the role of organization, the role of values, and the problem of changing distributions and inflicting costs on affected groups and society in general. She applies this understanding to an exploration of several policy areas and their defining struggles related to the AIDS epidemic in the United States. The actions and impacts of actors inside and outside of government are explored in the cases of new drug policy, blood policy, harm reduction versus abstinence as AIDS prevention models, the Ryan White CARE Act, and AIDS as a foreign policy issue. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR