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Zoe Norris Book - "Chronic Fatigue - A Mystery No More"

Snow Leopard

Hibernating
Messages
5,902
Location
South Australia
This might help answer some questions.

I found the following image, from her book, posted on her Twitter page...

https://twitter.com/MECFSRecovered/status/502526708202106880/photo/1

The citations are mostly about Mercury and Thimerosal. Rich Van Konynenburg is also mentioned in one of the citations as is a study on the effects of supplementing with Magnesium for Chronic Fatigue.

Nothing really new here, unless she's discovered an innovative treatment regimen to help deal with Mercury toxicity. Bear in mind that this may just a small portion of what the book is really about.

(*zooming in* *zooming in even more*)

You are right, that a majority of the references are about mercury/thiomersal toxicity. If that is what the book is about, then... It explains why she is keeping so quiet. To put that out in the open she will be ridiculed.

What in earth does that even mean?

It doesn't mean what she says it means. An ISBN request in the UK costs £120 and I think she simply didn't think she had a need to pay it, since she had no intention to sell her book through retail channels.
See also:
https://www.myidentifiers.com.au/isbn/main

An absence of an ISBN does not preclude being loaned as a library book. Likewise, it is legal to summarise and quote the book as part of a book review, despite what is said on the T&C on the website.
 

SOC

Senior Member
Messages
7,849
An absence of an ISBN does not preclude being loaned as a library book. Likewise, it is legal to summarise and quote the book as part of a book review, despite what is said on the T&C on the website.
Nor does a lack of ISBN preclude loaning the book between individuals. There's no law that prevents people from loaning any book to another person, ISBN or not. Zoe does a lot of outright lying. It appears that she says whatever suits her purpose without any regard for the truth.

She'd have done a lot better to stick to truth and transparency. She might actually have sold some books to people who buy into her theory -- mercury toxicity or whatever. By lying and refusing to be clear about what she's selling she's alienated all but the incredibly gullible... and even most of them will be thinking twice about dropping $60 on a single self-help book.
 

Kati

Patient in training
Messages
5,497
It would be preferable that patients invest in supporting their favourite researchers and charities rather than buying a book just to see what this person has to say.

There I said it and I will lead the way. $$$ to Open Medicine foundation. They deserve it.
 

justy

Donate Advocate Demonstrate
Messages
5,524
Location
U.K
I think what is more alarming right now is the caption for he twitter feed that the pages are taken from. Cant remember exactly but it says something about how she has just sent a copy of her book to the WHO after they requested it from her???!!!
 

jimells

Senior Member
Messages
2,009
Location
northern Maine
"This book has no assigned ISBN, is not available in public libraries and due to copyright reasons cannot be loaned out to anyone."

In the US I don't think you can restrict distribution of a book like that.

In theory she could sell me a license to possess and read her book while she retains title to it. This is standard practice for computer software and books, but nobody seems to notice or care. As you suggest, someone trying to sell a physical book on those terms would be laughed at.

oops, 'computer software and books' should be 'computer software and e-books'
 
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IreneF

Senior Member
Messages
1,552
Location
San Francisco
In theory she could sell me a license to possess and read her book while she retains title to it. This is standard practice for computer software and books, but nobody seems to notice or care. As you suggest, someone trying to sell a physical book on those terms would be laughed at.
I meant that the laws regarding copyright wouldn't allow the copyright owner to restrict distribution in that way. Once you sell a book, you no longer have control over it, and the fair use doctrine allows for publication of reviews and short excerpts. Whether it has an ISBN has nothing to do with anything.

The copyright holder has the right to prosecute anyone who prints copies without permission.
 

SOC

Senior Member
Messages
7,849
"Posted copy of my book with relevant parts highlighted to World Health Organisation today, at their request #mecfs."
:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:

WHO: Dear random patient claiming to have a cure for a serious, poorly understood disease, please send us a copy of your self-published book detailing your personal history with the illness with the relevant parts highlighted. We are desperate to find a cure for this dreadful illness and anticipate that your highlights will provide us the important information we need.

Yeah, right. :rolleyes:
I doubt WHO asks people to send them their books. Probably another self-serving lie.
I suspect you are correct.
 
Messages
15,786
I don't understand how someone who said she was ill for 15yrs would have such little compassion and a disingenuous approach to selling her book to people who are suffering and became poor as a result of losing their health.
Ah, but that must be the secret to recovery! Making money by fleecing desperate ME patients is the cure :rofl:
 
Messages
15,786
"This book has no assigned ISBN, is not available in public libraries and due to copyright reasons cannot be loaned out to anyone."

In the US I don't think you can restrict distribution of a book like that.
As someone who had to sit through an Intellectual Property class in law school, I'm quite sure it can't be restricted in that matter in the US. It potentially can be regarding ebooks, due to the DMCA, but I think the rest of the world generally laughs at that absurd bit of legislation.

And since few (if any) countries are as draconian as the US regarding copyright laws, I doubt her stated restrictions would have any legal weight anywhere.
 

GracieJ

Senior Member
Messages
772
Location
Utah
Wait... she dedicated her book to people who died from a disease that she says cannot kill?

Oh, yeah, I see... her startling discovery prevents the deaths?? Only we will have to wait a lifetime to hear of it and will be gone anyway.

All her research and she is missing how copyright works.

Edit. If I were totally cured of 24 years of misery and back to normal, as happy and overjoyed as that would make me, the last thing I would do is write a book and "move on." Many do move on and stop talking about their illnesses once recovered, but not with a book written.

She wants us to accept her book as truth with a gag order, no discussion, but will not initiate discussion herself.

With renewed energy, I would be like "Bring on the debate! Throw it at me! Let's hammer it out!" and would expect and invite to be crazy busy gladly answering e-mails and posting everything I could. It would become my life. Nice dream bubble, isn't it?

But... I am going to be the crazy person who scrapes up the money and orders this. I wanna know. :whistle:
 
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