The Impatient Dr. Lange: One Man's Fight to End the Global HIV Epidemic

by Seema Yasmin, Mabel van Oranje (Foreword by)

Overview

The incredible story of Joep Lange’s life and his unrelenting quest to end the HIV epidemic.

When Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was shot down by pro-Russian rebels in July 2014, the world wondered if a cure for HIV had fallen from the sky and disappeared among the burning debris. Seated in the plane’s business-class cabin was Joseph Lange, better known as Joep, a shrewd Dutch doctor who had revolutionized the world of HIV and AIDS and was working on a cure.

Dr. Lange graduated from medical school in 1981, right as a new plague swept across the globe. His story became intertwined with the story of HIV. At once a physician, scientist, AIDS activist, and medical diplomat, Lange studied ways to battle HIV and prevent its spread from mother to child. Fighting the injustices of poverty, Lange advocated for better access to health care for the poor and the vulnerable. He championed the drug cocktail that finally helped rein in the disease and was a vocal proponent of prophylactic treatment for those most at risk of contracting HIV.

The Impatient Dr. Lange is the story of one man’s struggle against a global pandemic—and the tragic attack that may have slowed down the search for a cure. Seema Yasmin charts the course of the HIV epidemic and Dr. Lange's career as a young doctor who blazed his own path and dedicated his life to HIV. Yasmin draws on written records, medical journals, recorded discussions, expert testimony, and extensive interviews with Lange’s family, friends, and colleagues around the globe—including the people he spoke to in the days before he died. She faithfully reconstructs key scenes from Lange’s life and the history of the AIDS epidemic, revealing how Lange became a global leader in the fight against AIDS.

The first book about Lange and his contributions to the fight against HIV, The Impatient Dr. Lange is a powerful tribute to one of the greatest scientists, activists, humanitarians, and social entrepreneurs in the world of HIV/AIDS.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781421426624
Publisher:	Johns Hopkins University Press
Publication date:	09/03/2018
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Seema Yasmin is an Emmy Award–winning health reporter, epidemiologist, and medical doctor. The director of the Stanford Center for Health Communication and a clinical assistant professor at Stanford University School of Medicine, she is the author of Muslim Women Are Everything: Stereotype-Shattering Stories of Courage, Inspiration, and Adventure and The Impatient Dr. Lange: One Man's Fight to End the Global HIV Epidemic.

Table of Contents

Foreword
How This Book Came to Be

Chapter One. The End
Chapter Two. Origin Stories
Chapter Three. The Epidemic
Chapter Four. Learn Your Enemy
Chapter Five. Unusual Bureaucrat
Chapter Six. Trials
Chapter Seven. Denial
Chapter Eight. A Is for Activist
Chapter Nine. Money and Faith
Chapter Ten. Cure
Epilogue

Acknowledgments
Index

What People are Saying About This

Douglas D. Richman

A remarkably well-written and engaging book. Yasmin brings out Lange's special personality and accomplishments while covering complex medical issues and situations understandably for the lay reader. Inspiring.

Lawrence Wright

The Impatient Dr. Lange is two things. It is first of all a thrilling history of the investigation of one of the greatest plagues in human history, written by a scientist who intimately understands the challenge that the HIV epidemic posed to humanity. It is also a eulogy for a great scientist, written by his younger protégé. These two strands combine for wonderful reading.

Charles Boucher

Seema Yasmin does an excellent job of portraying Dr. Lange's character, as well as significant milestones in the history of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and the discovery of new drugs and technologies.

From the Publisher

A remarkably well-written and engaging book. Yasmin brings out Lange's special personality and accomplishments while covering complex medical issues and situations understandably for the lay reader. Inspiring.
—Douglas D. Richman, MD, Center for AIDS Research, University of California, San Diego

The Impatient Dr. Lange is two things. It is first of all a thrilling history of the investigation of one of the greatest plagues in human history, written by a scientist who intimately understands the challenge that the HIV epidemic posed to humanity. It is also a eulogy for a great scientist, written by his younger protégé. These two strands combine for wonderful reading.
—Lawrence Wright, The New Yorker, author of The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11

Seema Yasmin does an excellent job of portraying Dr. Lange's character, as well as significant milestones in the history of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and the discovery of new drugs and technologies.
—Charles Boucher, MD, Erasmus Medical Center

Editorial Reviews

Reviewer: Alain Touwaide, PhD (Ronin Institute)
Description: The fight against HIV/AIDS and its history has been overshadowed early by the competition between the French Luc Montagnier and his American colleague Robert Gallo. Further on, the focus shifted to public health, with NGO organizations and others aiming at patients' rights, equal access to medication, and assistance to patients. All this has relegated to the background an isolated figure, Joep Lange, who fought for HIV/AIDS patients, wherever they were in the world. The short book here is a reportage on Lange's activity — medical, political, and humanitarian.
Purpose: Joep Lange's life ended in the most possibly dramatic way: he was among the passengers of the Malaysia Airlines plane shot down in 2014 over Ukraine while going to an HIV/AIDS conference. The book aims to provide justice for Joep Lange, whose destabilizing action in favor of HIV/AIDS patients might generate a misrepresentation of who he was. This is a book mostly written in the first person by an author who has been intrigued by Joep Lange from a young age and whose medical career was inspired by Lange. It is an homage to a hero, a journalistic account, and an enthralling history and story. In spite of her admiration, the author remains objective, proceeding as a journalist, documenting all her statements and reporting facts with almost surgical precision. The resulting account is, nevertheless, as captivating as a novel written with great art.
Audience: This book could (and probably should) be of interest to a broad range of readers. It is clearly a history of medicine in the making. But it goes way beyond its most apparent topic as it illustrates a life of public engagement for science and for the defense of individuals and populations who might not have easy access to medication. Lange's life and philosophy of action (including medical ethics) might be best summarized by Lange's statement about the availability of Coca-Cola in the most arid desert. If a cold Coke can be available anywhere, why not a treatment of HIV/AIDS? Such engagement could be an inspiration to any reader, regardless of background and interests.
Features: The book opens on the tragic end of Lange's life. In eight chapters, it follows Lange's actions in a vivid style, without notes or any similar critical material, but, nevertheless, based on original documents, journal articles, scientific publications, and other relevant data. The description of Lange's engagement does not overshadow the reports of his medical and scientific activity, marked by fundamental discoveries about the behavior of the virus, which led him to believe that it would be possible to wipe out the virus, not only from patients, but also from the surface of the earth.
Assessment: The direct engagement of the author in her topic results in constant first-person affirmations. While this might be the sign of accurate journalism and careful historical work based on personal contact with sources, it will generate sympathy with the author, her passionate medical career and activism. However, it also might provoke reactions of irritation, even antipathy. It is a book that will be liked or disliked. But, whatever the reaction, the book should be on the shelves of any medicohistorical library that aims to reflect all aspects and components of medicine in the making.

Doody's Review Service

More than just a biography, The Impatient Dr. Lange is a must-read for medical students and history buffs; it is also a sociopolitical overview of Europe and Africa in the 1980s and 1990s. The heartbreaking stories of HIV and AIDS patients across the globe, paired with Lange’s relentless drive, propel the narrative forward. Clear, concise, and thoroughly researched, this book shows how one person with ambition, compassion, hope, and the right resources can accomplish extraordinary things.
—Aimee Jodoin, Foreword Reviews

Engrossing
—Laurie Garrett, The Lancet

Yasmin offers a vivid sense of Lange's complexity, his faults and virtues, and the people and the causes he loved . . . Readers interested in the history of HIV and AIDS or biographies of persons who played a significant role in global health will find this a fascinating read.
—Library Journal

From the Publisher

More than just a biography, The Impatient Dr. Lange is a must-read for medical students and history buffs; it is also a sociopolitical overview of Europe and Africa in the 1980s and 1990s. The heartbreaking stories of HIV and AIDS patients across the globe, paired with Lange’s relentless drive, propel the narrative forward. Clear, concise, and thoroughly researched, this book shows how one person with ambition, compassion, hope, and the right resources can accomplish extraordinary things.

Foreword Reviews - Aimee Jodoin

Engrossing

The Lancet - Laurie Garrett