This review of Passage to Manhood is an intriguing presence in an STS journal, as the book is concerned more with subjects who bear the stigmata of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and illegal drug use in a marginalized ethnic society than with the objects, knowledge, and (infra) structures that are dubbed "technoscientific" and conventionally seen as domains of STS. Both the anthropological approach that informs the book and the STS themes that determine its starting points belong to disciplines that offer trenchant critiques of modernity. Passage to Manhood expands the scope of STS, adding to its critical arsenal by addressing important issues such as cultural practices, governmental strategies, fledgling individuality, and globalized stigmatization.
