Despite some controversy surrounding the book in the LGBT community, Shilts was praised for his meticulous documentation of an epidemic that was little-understood at the time.

Born August 8, 1951, in Davenport, Iowa, Shilts grew up in Aurora, Illinois, with five brothers in a conservative, working-class family.

Shilts graduated near the top of his class in 1975, but as an openly gay man, he struggled to find full-time employment in what he characterized as the homophobic environment of newspapers and television stations at that time.

During the early years of the AIDS crisis, he denounced San Francisco's gay leaders as "inept" and "a bunch of jerks," accusing them of hiding the emerging epidemic.

The book was translated into seven languages,[10] and was later made into an HBO film of the same name in 1993, with many big-name actors in starring or supporting roles, including Matthew Modine, Richard Gere, Anjelica Huston, Phil Collins, Lily Tomlin, Ian McKellen, Steve Martin, and Alan Alda, among others.

[13] Undaunted by a lack of enthusiasm for his initial proposal for the Harvey Milk biography, Shilts reworked the concept, as he later said, after further reflection: I read Hawaii by James Michener.

[3] In a note included in The Life and Times of Harvey Milk, Shilts expressed his view of a reporter's duty to rise above criticism: I can only answer that I tried to tell the truth and, if not be objective, at least be fair; history is not served when reporters prize trepidation and propriety over the robust journalistic duty to tell the whole story.

"[12] Despite being effectively homebound and on oxygen, he was able to attend the Los Angeles screening of the HBO film version of And the Band Played On in August 1993.

Shilts died at 42 on February 17, 1994, at Davies Medical Center in San Francisco, California, being survived by his partner Barry Barbieri, his mother, and his brothers.

[13] Shilts bequeathed 170 cartons of papers, notes, and research files to the local history section of the San Francisco Public Library.

"[2] NAMES Project founder Cleve Jones described Shilts as "a hero" and characterized his books as "without question the most important works of literature affecting gay people.

"[3] In 1998, Shilts was memorialized in the Hall of Achievement at the University of Oregon School of Journalism, honoring his refusal to be "boxed in by the limits that society offered him.

As an out gay man, he carved a place in journalism that was not simply groundbreaking but internationally influential in changing the way the news media covered AIDS.

"[10] A San Francisco Chronicle reporter summed up the achievement of his late "brash and gutsy" colleague: Perhaps because Shilts remains controversial among some gays, there is no monument to him.

[3]In 2006, Reporter Zero, a half-hour biographical documentary about Shilts featuring interviews with friends and colleagues, was produced and directed by filmmaker Carrie Lozano.