A Plague on All Our Houses: Medical Intrigue, Hollywood, and the Discovery of AIDS

by Bruce J. Hillman

A frightening new plague. A medical mystery. A pioneering immunologist. In A Plague on All Our Houses, Dr. Bruce J. Hillman dissects the war of egos, money, academic power, and Hollywood clout that advanced AIDS research even as it compromised the career of the scientist who discovered the disease. At the beginning of the worldwide epidemic soon to be known as AIDS, Dr. Michael Gottlieb was a young immunologist new to the faculty of UCLA Medical Center. In 1981 he was brought in to consult on a battery of unusual four formerly healthy gay men presenting with persistent fever, weight loss, and highly unusual infections. Other physicians around the country had noted similar clusters of symptoms, but it was Gottlieb who first realized that these patients had a new and deadly disease. He also identified the defect in their immune system that allowed the disease to flourish. He published his findings in a now-iconic lead article in the New England Journal of Medicine--an impressive achievement for such a young scientist--and quickly became the focal point of a whirlwind of panic, envy, desperation, and distrust that played out against a glittering Hollywood backdrop. Courted by the media, the gay community, and the entertainment industry, Gottlieb emerged as the medical face of the terrifying new epidemic when he became personal physician to Rock Hudson, the first celebrity AIDS patient. With Elizabeth Taylor he cofounded the charitable foundation amfAR, which advanced public awareness of AIDS and raised vast sums for research, even as it struggled against political resistance that began with the Reagan administration and trickled down through sedimentary layers of bureaucracy. Far from supporting him, the UCLA medical establishment reacted with dismay to Gottlieb's early work on AIDS, believing it would tarnish the reputation of the Medical Center. Denied promotion and tenure in 1987, Gottlieb left UCLA for private practice just as the National Institutes of Health awarded the institution a $10 million grant for work he had pioneered there. In the thirty-five years since the discovery of AIDS, research, prevention, and clinical care have advanced to the point that the disease is no longer the death sentence it once was. Gottlieb's seminal article is now regarded by the New England Journal of Medicine as one of the most significant publications of its two-hundred-year history. A Plague on All Our Houses offers a ringside seat to one of the most important medical discoveries and controversies of our time.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Science, Politics, Medicine

252 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2016

Reviews

[Stacee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have always been fascinated by this disease and I have a few friends who are HIV positive, so I was eager to request and read this book.

I was a bit concerned with how science-y it would be. Viruses and drug trials and the like are pretty dry topics, but they're handled quite well. I wasn't lost on any of the topics. Instead I was captivated reading about Dr. Michael Gottlieb and his quest to fight AIDS after discovering it.

My lone complaint was the sheer amount of people mentioned. The intriguing journey quickly lost its spark once I hit multiple chapters about administrative arguing over bland things like office location and names of articles. Yes, in the scheme of things, they were important to those involved. But as a reader, it took away the rhythm of the story.

Overall, it was informative and the "Brad Hartley" sections were some of the best. Dr. Gottlieb is quite a pioneer.

**Huge thanks to ForeEdge and Edelweiss for providing the arc in exchange for an honest review**

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not only was the book poorly written, the author cites Wikipedia on multiple occasions. Read 'And the Band Played On' instead.

[Claire Binkley · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this up out of curiosity. Why do some get HIV/AIDS, and why is that bad? It did not seem to deliver on this, however I still liked that I could get to this book at my local library, and it made me think of that Airplane! movie I enjoyed, too.

What surprised me was that the inside cover explained the contents of this book were a part of immunology - I remember spending hours and hours with a book with my mother at the immunologist's office during the later part of her life.

This book concentrates on four formerly healthy gay men; on the back cover it says the author was denied promotion and tenure since that is picking happenstance occasions out of a haystack.
I don't know, at the end. There seems to have been a lot of arguing between the head researchers so that nothing could be clearly set out.

I hope that those who are suffering feel better soon.

[Dna · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you enjoy reading about the AIDS epidemic from a paid propagandist's point of view, this book will delight you! I won't say I didn't enjoy reading it, because like all good bad non-fiction, it led onto much more interesting pathways. I love books that are annotated, because then at least I can go into their research when dissatisfied and figure things out on my own. But this is most certainly NOT about the "discovery" of AIDS. The simplistic view that AIDS was discovered like a mouse in a pantry is laughable. Fun read though and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in modern medical history, or even just the intersection of Hollywood, sexuality and popular diseases (LOL...never thought I'd type all those in one sentence).

[Heather G · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting!

I did not expect such a short book on Aids history to be so full of facts and be so well-written!

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

An engaging portrait of Dr. Michael Gottlieb and of the emergence of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s, Dr. Bruce J. Hillman's new book reveals the humanity of those studying the disease as well as its victims. While serving as a new faculty member at the UCLA Medical Center, Dr. Gottlieb was the first to identify a disturbing cluster of symptoms as the hallmarks of a terrifyingly deadly new disease. Dr. Gottlieb's discovery was met with dismay from his employers and indifference from the Reagan administration, impeding Dr. Gottlieb's career and resulting in the deaths of thousands who may have benefited from increased funding for researchers and health care professionals. Dr. Gottlieb's connections to Hollywood glitterati were particularly interesting to this reviewer, and the section on Dr. Gottlieb's relationships with Rock Hudson and Elizabeth Taylor is fascinating and heartbreaking. In my opinion the book tends to lag when focusing on the politics of research and interdepartmental tensions within UCLA, but the academic reader may find these parts more engaging than I did. Ultimately, this is a well-written and thoroughly-researched book that should challenge how we approach emerging diseases.

Note: I received a free copy of this book through LibraryThing Early Reviewers

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Plague on All Our House looks at the career of Dr. Michael Gottleib whose article on AIDS in the New England Journal of Medicine first helped identify the disease. He quickly rose to prominence and began treating celebrities like Rock Hudson. Despite his prominence the book outlines how he alienated himself from his employer UCLA and fellow researchers. It's an interesting look at some of the seminal moments that defined how we thought about and looked to treat AIDS in its early days.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting information, but "And the Band Played On" covered the topic better. I found the segments featuring Brad Hartley to be strangely written and distracting. Hartley was a fictional composite of several of Gottleib's patients, which was clearly explained. I don't have issue with the concept--given the context it makes sense. I just found the way those segments were written to be really inconsistent with the rest of the book.

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was in my early 20s in the early 1980s so I was very aware of the beginnings of the AIDS epidemic and have read other books about it, including the great "And the Band Played On." This book offered a close up of one of the doctors/researchers who figured prominently in those early days. I learned about AIDS research and politics and also about the world of academic medicine.

[Katherine Scott · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is not about the AIDS epidemic, it's about politics in academia and rehashing old feuds between colleagues. Did not finish.

[Marika · Rating 4 out of 5]

Important book on the rise of AIDS and the courageous Dr. Michael Gottlieb who compromised his rising career to not only battle it, but bring it to the forefront.

[Chelsey Langland]

This is most definitely a fawning biography of Gottleib, with a side of dirt on academic medicine. It's not bad, it's just not what I wanted.