This book is an investigation into the science, history, and politics of Lyme disease as observed by a journalist whose entire family contracted the illness traces its significant rise and the atypical presentations that have made its diagnosis and treatment difficult. It is a narrative investigation into the science, history, medical politics, and patient experience of Lyme disease told by a science journalist whose entire family contracted the disease. It paints a picture of the intense controversy and crippling uncertainty surrounding Lyme disease and sheds light on one of the angriest medical disputes raging today. The author also reveals her personal odyssey through the land of Lyme after she, her husband and their two sons became seriously ill with the disease beginning in the 1990s. From the microbe causing the infection and the definition of the disease, to the length and type of treatment and the kind of practitioner needed, Lyme is a hotbed of contention. With a CDC estimated 200,000 plus new cases of Lyme disease a year, it has surpassed both AIDS and TB as the fastest-spreading infectious disease in the U.S. Yet alarmingly, in many cases, because the disease often eludes blood tests and not all patients exhibit the classic "bulls-eye" rash and swollen joints, doctors are unable or unwilling to diagnose Lyme. When that happens, once treatable infections become chronic, inexorably disseminating to cause disabling conditions that may never be cured. The book reveals why the Lyme epidemic has been allowed to explode, why patients are dismissed, and what can be done to raise awareness in the medical community and find a cure. A comprehensive book written about the past, present and future of Lyme disease, it exposes the ticking clock of a raging epidemic.

The brand-new final chapter from the revised edition of CURE UNKNOWN, the definitive, award-winning investigation into Lyme disease Since its original publication in 2008, CURE UNKNOWN has become known as a nuanced, groundbreaking picture of the intense controversy and crippling uncertainty surrounding Lyme disease, and the only book of its kind. Award-winning journalist Pamela Weintraub reveals her personal struggle with Lyme after she and her family became seriously ill with the disease, and sheds light on one of the angriest medical disputes raging today. In recent years, there have been many crucial updates (political, medical and scientific) to the Lyme story; the intense controversy has continued, new information has come out, and paradigm-shifting decisions made at the highest levels of government. In this brand-new final chapter of CURE UNKNOWN, originally published in the May 2013 revised edition, Pamela offers her unique, riveting take on the disease as it stands today, further exposing the ticking clock of a raging epidemic and offering sufferers new hope.

A groundbreaking and controversial narrative investigation into the science, history, medical politics, and patient experience of Lyme disease told by a science journalist whose entire family contracted the disease.Pamela Weintraub paints a nuanced picture of the intense controversy and crippling uncertainty surrounding Lyme disease and sheds light on one of the angriest medical disputes raging today. She also reveals her personal odyssey through the land of Lyme after she, her husband and their two sons became seriously ill with the disease beginning in the 1990s. From the microbe causing the infection and the definition of the disease, to the length and type of treatment and the kind of practitioner needed, Lyme is a hotbed of contention. With a CDC-estimated 200,000-plus new cases of Lyme disease a year, it has surpassed both AIDS and TB as the fastest-spreading infectious disease in the U.S. Yet alarmingly, in many cases, because the disease often eludes blood tests and not all patients exhibit the classic "bulls-eye" rash and swollen joints, doctors are woefully unable or unwilling to diagnose Lyme. When that happens, once-treatable infections become chronic, inexorably disseminating to cause disabling conditions that may never be cured. Weintraub reveals why the Lyme epidemic has been allowed to explode, why patients are dismissed, and what can be done to raise awareness in the medical community and find a cure. The most comprehensive book ever written about the past, present and future of Lyme disease, this exposes the ticking clock of a raging epidemic.

The most up-to-date, comprehensive treatment guide to fibromyalgia, by a renowned physician who herself has the condition If you suffer from fibromyalgia and are struggling to get help from your doctor, you’re far from alone. Ten million Americans experience the widespread muscle pain, profound fatigue, and fuzzy brain (“fibrofog”) that have long frustrated both patients and doctors. In this unique resource, Ginevra Liptan, M.D., shares a cutting-edge new approach that goes far beyond mainstream medical knowledge to produce dramatic symptom improvement. Dr. Liptan’s program incorporates clinically proven therapies from both alternative and conventional medicine, along with the latest research on experimental options like medical marijuana. Since many health care providers have limited fibromyalgia expertise, The FibroManual includes a thoroughly sourced “health care provider guide” that enables readers to help their doctors help them. Alleviate fibromyalgia symptoms in four simple steps (Rest, Repair, Rebalance, and Reduce) and you will • restore deep, restful sleep • achieve long-lasting pain relief • optimize hormone and energy balance • reduce fatigue This accessible and empowering resource provides essential information about understanding and treating fibromyalgia from a physician who, as both patient and provider, understands the illness from the inside.

Planet Medicine is a major work by an anthropologist who looks at medicine in a broad context. In this edition, additions to this classic text include a section on Reiki, a comparison of types of palpation used in healing, updates on craniosacral therapy, and a means of understanding how different alternative medicines actually work. Illustrated throughout, this is the standard on the history, philosophy, and anthropology of this subject.

Strictly off limits to the public, Plum Island is home to virginal beaches, cliffs, forests, ponds -- and the deadliest germs that have ever roamed the planet. Lab 257 blows the lid off the stunning true nature and checkered history of Plum Island. It shows that the seemingly bucolic island in the shadow of New York City is a ticking biological time bomb that none of us can safely ignore. Based on declassified government documents, in-depth interviews, and access to Plum Island itself, this is an eye-opening, suspenseful account of a federal government germ laboratory gone terribly wrong. For the first time, Lab 257 takes you deep inside this secret world and presents startling revelations on virus outbreaks, biological meltdowns, infected workers, the periodic flushing of contaminated raw sewage into area waters, and the insidious connections between Plum Island, Lyme disease, and the deadly West Nile virus. The book also probes what's in store for Plum Island's new owner, the Department of Homeland Security, in this age of bioterrorism. Lab 257 is a call to action for those concerned with protecting present and future generations from preventable biological catastrophes.

“Staggeringly good.” —Counterpunch A major new work, a hybrid of history, journalism, and memoir, about the modern Freedom of Information Act—FOIA—and the horrifying, decades-old government misdeeds that it is unable to demystify, from one of America's most celebrated writers Eight years ago, while investigating the possibility that the United States had used biological weapons in the Korean War, Nicholson Baker requested a series of Air Force documents from the early 1950s under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act. Years went by, and he got no response. Rather than wait forever, Baker set out to keep a personal journal of what it feels like to try to write about major historical events in a world of pervasive redactions, witheld records, and glacially slow governmental responses. The result is one of the most original and daring works of nonfiction in recent memory, a singular and mesmerizing narrative that tunnels into the history of some of the darkest and most shameful plans and projects of the CIA, the Air Force, and the presidencies of Harry Truman and Dwight Eisenhower. In his lucid and unassuming style, Baker assembles what he learns, piece by piece, about Project Baseless, a crash Pentagon program begun in the early fifties that aimed to achieve "an Air Force-wide combat capability in biological and chemical warfare at the earliest possible date." Along the way, he unearths stories of balloons carrying crop disease, leaflet bombs filled with feathers, suicidal scientists, leaky centrifuges, paranoid political-warfare tacticians, insane experiments on animals and humans, weaponized ticks, ferocious propaganda battles with China, and cover and deception plans meant to trick the Kremlin into ramping up its germ-warfare program. At the same time, Baker tells the stories of the heroic journalists and lawyers who have devoted their energies to wresting documentary evidence from government repositories, and he shares anecdotes from his daily life in Maine feeding his dogs and watching the morning light gather on the horizon. The result is an astonishing and utterly disarming story about waiting, bureaucracy, the horrors of war, and, above all, the cruel secrets that the United States government seems determined to keep forever from its citizens.