United States: Dr Anthony Fauci to publish a memoir in June, not only highlighting his long career as an expert on infectious diseases but also the range of plagues he responded to–from HIV/AIDS in the 1980s until now and COVID-19 that made him famous during this ongoing pandemic.
Viking announced Thursday that Fauci’s “On Call: “A Doctor’s Journey in Public Service” will be released on June 18.
Fauci’s Perspective
“I hope that this memoir will serve as a personalized document for the reader to understand better the daunting challenges that we have faced in public health over the past 40 years,” Fauci said in a statement released Thursday by Viking. “I would also like to inspire younger individuals, in particular, to consider careers in public health and public service.”
A Career Spanning Seven Presidencies
At the age of 83, Fauci has been leading NIAID since its establishment in 1960 and was Biden’s chief medical advisor until his retirement last year. Fauci has worked under seven presidents, including Ronald Reagan, but is arguably best associated with his role during Donald Trump’s administration, where he often clashed with the White House in response to the pandemic.
Fauci, with his raspy voice and straightforward approach, was viewed by millions as the face of the American government during these troubled times. However, he would grow progressively alienated from Trump, who supported an earlier return to normalcy and promoted unproven cures. Republicans and anti-vaxxers have since criticized him relentlessly on a wide range of issues and have written books attacking him, including Sen. Rand Paul’s “Deception: The Great Covid Cover-Up” and Robert F. Kennedy Jr’s “The Real Anthony Fauci.”
Fauci had been convicted of controversy before. In the 1980s, he had been condemned for what is called his indifferent response to the spread of AIDS by the activist group ACT UP.
However, he would receive support from many of his critics by meeting with ACT UP members and granting such demands as the inclusion of HIV people in research committees or expediting the procedure for searching for treatments.
Unveiling a Lifetime of Service
Under the George W. Bush administration, Fauci authored PEPFAR – the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. For ‘his efforts in understanding and treatment of HIV/AIDS,’ Bush gave Fauci a Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2008.
The financing circumstances of Fauci’s memoirs were not made public. Robert Barnett, a Washington lawyer who has worked with past presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama as well as Bush, was his attorney.