Plague: One Scientist’s Intrepid Search for the Truth about Human Retroviruses and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS), Autism, and Other Diseases

By Kent Heckenlively and Judy Mikovits

On July 22, 2009, a special meeting was held with twenty-four leading scientists at the National Institutes of Health to discuss early findings that a newly discovered retrovirus was linked to chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), prostate cancer, lymphoma, and eventually neurodevelopmental disorders in children. When Dr. Judy Mikovits finished her presentation the room was silent for a moment, then one of the scientists said, “Oh my God!” The resulting investigation would be like no other in science.

For Dr. Mikovits, a twenty-year veteran of the National Cancer Institute, this was the midpoint of a five-year journey that would start with the founding of the Whittemore-Peterson Institute for Neuro-Immune Disease at the University of Nevada, Reno, and end with her as a witness for the federal government against her former employer, Harvey Whittemore, for illegal campaign contributions to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

On this journey Dr. Mikovits would face the scientific prejudices against CFS, wander into the minefield that is autism, and through it all struggle to maintain her faith in God and the profession to which she had dedicated her life. This is a story for anybody interested in the peril and promise of science at the very highest levels in our country.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing
• Release date: Feb 21, 2017
• ISBN: 9781510726352

Reviews for Plague

[stephxsu · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Fourteenth-century Europe is ridden with the plague, monstrous black rats roaming everywhere. The English Plantagenet princess Joan is heading to Spain to marry Prince Pedro in an alliance that will give more power to the English king. However, the plague ravages the betrothal ship, leaving Princess Joan dead and her lookalike servant, Nell, and Nell’s little brother, George, alive.Joan’s brother, the malevolent Black Prince, forces Nell to act the role of the princess and carry on with the marriage. It’s up to a ragtag group of people to help Nell and George escape from the Black Prince, but how can Nell know who to really trust? And with an army of rats and a crown to the Black Prince’s name, how can Nell survive the throes of his black-hearted ambitions?THE PLAGUE was a decisively odd and unsatisfying read. I had expected a grand and exciting adventure full of so much danger you couldn’t possibly flip a page without encountering it. However, this book was slow, disjointed, and inconclusive. I never got a sense for any of the characters, most of whom seemed to pop in and out of the story arbitrarily, their backstories and motivations unexplained. The Black Prince was a too perfect villain, with consistently evil actions and a predictable ending.My favorite character was little George, a naively optimistic and trusting boy who helps heal the afflicted and has not yet realized how dangerous the world is. Other than that, however, I felt no connection to this book at all.

[sensitivemuse · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I thought this book was going to be all historical and for the most part, it is. However then there’s this fantastical element that’s been added in and I can’t quite understand why as there really was no need for it. Actually I think it made the book worse. I especially disliked how Edward was seen as a ‘sorcerer’ with his army of black rats descending terror upon Nell and her friends. What in the world was that about??!!! I really did not like that at all. Although the plot was interesting, the pace was really slow and it felt as if I would never get around to finishing the book. The characters, were well done though, if only there wasn’t a magic theme to it, it would have been ten times better. If the story was just purely historical fiction I think it would have been a decent novel. Even with the magic though, it wasn’t properly explained and you are left rather perplexed at the entire novel. The description of the plague wasn’t really the main focus but it seemed as if it was just rushed through to get to Nell’s journey back home. In other words, the theme of the plague just seemed secondary to everything else. The ending was all right. Decently written but by the end of novel I was glad I was done. Overall, I’d definitely pass on this one. It could have been so much better but instead it falls short. Fans of historical fiction may not like the way the Black Prince is portrayed (such as me). I might recommend this book to those that aren’t too heavy on the historical fiction and wouldn’t mind a bit of fantasy as well.

[krumbs_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

There wasn't a heck of a lot of plot involved. A fairly linear storyline, easy to follow, easy to predict, but an odd tip over into "sorcery" at one point (the Black Prince could apparently command an army of rats...ok, sure). I would like to read a book in which the younger brother doesn't completely annoy me, but in this one at least I didn't care all that much. None of the characters were very fleshed out, the action (what there was of it) didn't make a whole lot of sense, and I somehow missed people dying--important people. Ah well. Maybe better if you're 11 years old and reading this one?