There will be a presentation by author, activist, and engineer James R. Olsen at the Ravalli County Museum on Thursday, July 17, at 6 p.m., on his new book, “COVID Wars, A True Story from Both Sides.” This will be followed by a discussion with the author and Pamala Small, retired research department head from Rocky Mountain Laboratories and Hollie Rose Conger, health advisor.
“COVID Wars: A True Story from Both Sides – How a Small Montana County Navigated the Global Covid-19 Pandemic, Public Health, Propaganda, Politics, and the Path Forward” by James R Olsen
Science Editor: Alex Klattenhoff, PhD Candidate, Microbiology & Genetics, Assistant Professor
Contributor: Pamala Small, PhD, Microbiology, Professor Emeritus. Retired research department head Rocky Mountain Laboratories.
In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, a small conservative county in western Montana became an unlikely flashpoint in America’s war over truth, science, and power. “Covid Wars: A True Story from Both Sides” is the first in a three-part nonfiction series by James R. Olsen—offering a deeply researched, dramatically human account of how one community struggled to make sense of conflicting mandates, masks, lockdowns, and leadership while the rest of the world burned.
Set in Ravalli County, where 67% voted for Donald Trump but liberal voices still echo through town halls and protest lines, Olsen brings readers into Health Board meetings where nurses, doctors, alternative healers, scientists, and business owners clashed—sometimes respectfully, sometimes not. This is a true story, not a partisan take. It’s about what happens when people must decide who to trust in the middle of a crisis—Fauci or Facebook, science or skepticism, policy or protest.
Drawing comparisons between U.S. failures and South Korea’s success, and between local politics and national events like the Capitol riot, Olsen makes a strong case: how we handled Covid revealed who we are. Backed by over 1,500 citations and illustrated with 130 full-color charts and visuals, this book translates complex medical science and social upheaval into a compelling narrative a layperson can grasp.
Kirkus Reviews calls it “analytically relentless, nonpartisan, and appropriately curious.”
Readers’ Favorite hails its “meticulous research” and “humanized approach to pandemic storytelling.”
