This is by far my favorite book of all time!
Thank you, Hillary Johnson, for taking on the monumental task of documenting the egregious crimes against us ME/NEID (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/ NeuroEndocrine Immune Disease) (aka "CFS"/CFIDS) sufferers by Stephen Strauss and others at NIH and CDC. I was on the edge of my seat even on my fourth reading of this true crime thriller! Your heart will be pumping with adrenaline and outrage as you race through yet another "Oh My God!" moment where another damning piece of evidence is laid bare. As a trial lawyer myself, I've never seen such a riveting and clear case made out of such complicated facts.
Alot of progress has been made since the book came out- basically CDC and others finally admitting much of what Johnson said in the book. I still wonder about some of the things for which Johnson made a great case, but have essentially been forgotten. For example, it seems clear to me that the human retrovirus discovered by Dr. Elaine Defritas is a cause of ME, but it hasn't been discussed in the literature in more than a decade. Ampligen is finally nearing approval; I wonder if it is the wonder drug portrayed in the book. And I continue to see reports in the media of more ME patients dying of previously extraordinarily rare cancers such as Burkitt's Lymphoma, but this continues to be ignored by the scientific journals.
All people with ME and their families would benefit enormously from reading Osler's Web. Osler's Web made me feel the catharsis that a disbelieved rape victim must feel when a skilled prosecuter, in open court, makes it clear beyond a shadow of a doubt that the defendant did in fact rape her; that she is not a liar, but instead a victim of a terrible crime.