The Impatient Dr. Lange: One Man’s Fight to End the Global HIV Epidemic

When Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was shot down by pro-Russian rebels in July 2014, the world wondered if a cure for HIV had disappeared. Seated in the plane’s business-class cabin was Joseph Lange, better known as Joep, a shrewd Dutch doctor who had revolutionized the world of HIV & AIDS & was working on a cure.

Dr. Lange graduated from medical school in 1981, right as a new plague swept across the globe. He studied ways to battle HIV & prevent its spread from mother to child. Fighting the injustices of poverty, Lange advocated for better access to health care for the poor & the vulnerable. He championed the drug cocktail that finally helped rein in the disease & was a vocal proponent of prophylactic treatment for those most at risk of contracting HIV. 

The Impatient Dr. Lange is the story of one man’s struggle against a global pandemic—& the tragic attack that may have slowed down the search for a cure. Seema Yasmin draws on written records, medical journals, recorded discussions, expert testimony, & extensive interviews with Lange’s family, friends, & colleagues around the globe—including the people he spoke to in the days before he died. She faithfully reconstructs key scenes from Lange’s life & the history of the AIDS epidemic, revealing how Lange became a global leader in the fight against AIDS.

“A thrilling history of the investigation of one of the greatest plagues in human history.” —Lawrence Wright, Pulitzer Prize-winning author

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Seema Yasmin is an Emmy Award–winning journalist who was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, medical doctor, professor, & poet. She attended medical school at Cambridge University & worked as a disease detective for the US federal government’s Epidemic Intelligence Service.