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No Time to Lose: A Life in Pursuit of Deadly Viruses Hardcover – May 28, 2012
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Editorial Reviews
Review
“Starred review. ...Piot helped assure that affordable drugs revolutionizing AIDS treatment would be available to the poorest victims. He leaves a legacy of change and hope in two worlds—medicine and politics—and an urgent reminder that their cooperation saves lives.” (Publishers Weekly)
About the Author
Peter Piot, MD, PhD, is the director of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, former undersecretary general of the United Nations, and former executive director of UNAIDS. He lives in London.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
29 of 29 people found the following review helpful
By
Vic
on June 24, 2012
Format: Hardcover
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A bit of a disclaimer: My book came from the city library. I heard Dr. Piot's interview on NPR, put the book on hold, and received a pickup notice the next day.
Reading the book is a little like drinking out of a fire hose: the author was personally responsible for a number of important events I have read about in the newspaper-identification of Ebola virus, the issue of the Vatican opposing condoms because, according to Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo, condoms were permeable to the AIDS virus (which they are not). Just watch for these because they make for interesting discoveries and ahh moments. The bottom line is that the author was present at a number of events and was often the senior UN spokesman in his role as the executive director of UNAIDS.
The book is a memoir, and in it Dr. Piot is thoroughly direct and very frank regarding his views. For example, upon leaving his UNAIDS post in 2008 he explained: "I was not down nor relieved to abandon the influential pulpit of the UN, nor the snake pit of multilateral politics ... I must admit thought that it was a great feeling to no longer be held responsible for anything that goes wrong on AIDS anywhere in the world." However, Dr. Piot speaks with awe, joy and authority regarding his conversations with key world figures such as Kofi Annan (his boss), Fidel Castro, China Premier Wen Jiabao, and the chief executives of African countries. He also addressed the US Congress to request program funding, which he received.
The book outlines major events in Dr. Poit's life as they relate to the microbiology of infectious diseases, the identification of disease vectors, and a long administrative career at the UN basically trying to "herd cats.Read more ›
Reading the book is a little like drinking out of a fire hose: the author was personally responsible for a number of important events I have read about in the newspaper-identification of Ebola virus, the issue of the Vatican opposing condoms because, according to Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo, condoms were permeable to the AIDS virus (which they are not). Just watch for these because they make for interesting discoveries and ahh moments. The bottom line is that the author was present at a number of events and was often the senior UN spokesman in his role as the executive director of UNAIDS.
The book is a memoir, and in it Dr. Piot is thoroughly direct and very frank regarding his views. For example, upon leaving his UNAIDS post in 2008 he explained: "I was not down nor relieved to abandon the influential pulpit of the UN, nor the snake pit of multilateral politics ... I must admit thought that it was a great feeling to no longer be held responsible for anything that goes wrong on AIDS anywhere in the world." However, Dr. Piot speaks with awe, joy and authority regarding his conversations with key world figures such as Kofi Annan (his boss), Fidel Castro, China Premier Wen Jiabao, and the chief executives of African countries. He also addressed the US Congress to request program funding, which he received.
The book outlines major events in Dr. Poit's life as they relate to the microbiology of infectious diseases, the identification of disease vectors, and a long administrative career at the UN basically trying to "herd cats.Read more ›
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
By
Totoro
on July 7, 2012
Format: Hardcover
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I picked this up from the library as soon as I read the review in the Lancet and thoroughly enjoyed every page (so much so that I am purchasing my own copy and writing a review here, which I rarely do). Dr. Piot has had the good fortune of being a smart guy who was in the right place at the right time for several historic events. He tells his story with a charming blend of down-to-earth humor and shrewd insight, which is more than can be said for many other autobiographies that are printed. He also does a great job of explaining technical concepts and terms without ever slowing down the pace of the book, which is regularly peppered with fascinating vignettes of his experiences with dictators, health ministers, the clergy, and more. Some of these are laugh-out-loud funny, while others are sobering. Just these "war stories" alone are worth the price of the book.
The later chapters of the book describe the complicated political machinations that are part and parcel of a career in international civil servant. Some may find these less riveting than his swashbuckling early years chasing viruses in the jungle, but I was interested to see how a scientist became a successful people manager, activist, and diplomat - not an easy list of roles! While I agree with the shortcomings that the previous two reviews point out, I think their comments should be taken with a grain of salt. This is a man who has had a long and productive career, and while his naming names can be sometimes fascinating and sometimes frustrating, he should be forgiven for wanting to call out people who have traveled the same path with him. As for self-aggrandizing, well, it IS an autobiography, and it's all a matter of perspective.
The later chapters of the book describe the complicated political machinations that are part and parcel of a career in international civil servant. Some may find these less riveting than his swashbuckling early years chasing viruses in the jungle, but I was interested to see how a scientist became a successful people manager, activist, and diplomat - not an easy list of roles! While I agree with the shortcomings that the previous two reviews point out, I think their comments should be taken with a grain of salt. This is a man who has had a long and productive career, and while his naming names can be sometimes fascinating and sometimes frustrating, he should be forgiven for wanting to call out people who have traveled the same path with him. As for self-aggrandizing, well, it IS an autobiography, and it's all a matter of perspective.
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11 of 13 people found the following review helpful
By
Jesse S. Walker
on August 19, 2012
Format: Hardcover
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I picked up this book on the idea that it contained history about discovering Ebola and AIDS. While it does have this information it was a muddle to get through.
The author has lived what can only be considered a fascinating life in working in these epidemics but it barely shows. He spends dozens of pages telling you the comings and goings of dozens of scientists, all of which seem to be described as having a great sense of humor and brilliant, before he gives a little nugget of what doing his work was like. At about 150 pages in he essentially becomes an administrator and it gets worse before it gets better.
The description of the book gives the idea that the book was equally about both Ebola and AIDS but it turns out Ebola was really his lead into his AIDS work. While still noble it left me feeling slightly deceived by the publisher.
The book gives a lot of information about the discovery of AIDS and how things progressed but it really isn't as compelling as it could be. While he mentions the studies that were done, there appear to have been so many that he doesn't do a very good job of explaining their significance before moving on.
A life as obviously interesting as his has been really does deserve a better book, perhaps something more like Deadly Feasts: The "Prion" Controversy and the Public's Health. Sadly the author is almost certainly not the best person to write this book. I wanted to like this book (and I do admire the author) but the book is hopelessly muddled for the average reader.
The author has lived what can only be considered a fascinating life in working in these epidemics but it barely shows. He spends dozens of pages telling you the comings and goings of dozens of scientists, all of which seem to be described as having a great sense of humor and brilliant, before he gives a little nugget of what doing his work was like. At about 150 pages in he essentially becomes an administrator and it gets worse before it gets better.
The description of the book gives the idea that the book was equally about both Ebola and AIDS but it turns out Ebola was really his lead into his AIDS work. While still noble it left me feeling slightly deceived by the publisher.
The book gives a lot of information about the discovery of AIDS and how things progressed but it really isn't as compelling as it could be. While he mentions the studies that were done, there appear to have been so many that he doesn't do a very good job of explaining their significance before moving on.
A life as obviously interesting as his has been really does deserve a better book, perhaps something more like Deadly Feasts: The "Prion" Controversy and the Public's Health. Sadly the author is almost certainly not the best person to write this book. I wanted to like this book (and I do admire the author) but the book is hopelessly muddled for the average reader.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
By
Andrew Wilson
on February 3, 2014
Format: Hardcover
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I found this to be a relatively unselfconscious autobiography of an important player in the Ebola and HIV/Aids epidemics. While the science of virology is touched on relatively lightly, for me the real importance and most troubling message of the book lies in its revelation of the difficulties faced in getting a rational transnational response to one of mankind's most serious transnational problems. I enjoyed reading this book and have since thought about it a lot. It was not a difficult read and I would recommend it to anyone interested in medicine, medical history or politics. Those interested in the standing of science in governance or the status of women and minorities in societies will also gain from reading this book.
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