A personal and informative exploration of the history of human blood traces attitudes toward the vital substance, from ancient times, through a Victorian Europe decimated by hemophilia, to today's modern day high-tech laboratories. Writer Hayes is our guide on a whirlwind journey through history, literature, mythology, and science by means of the great red river that runs five quarts strong through our bodies. Along the way, there will be world-changing triumphs: William Harvey's discovery of the circulation of the blood; Dr. Paul Ehrlich's Nobel-Prize-winning work in immunology; Dr. Jay Levy's co-discovery of the virus that causes AIDS. This is also a personal voyage, in which Hayes recounts the impact of the vital fluid in his daily life, from growing up with five sisters and their monthly cycles, to coming out as a gay man during the explosive early days of the AIDS epidemic.--From publisher description.