Paralysed with Fear: The Story of Polio Reprint edition by Williams, Gareth (2015) Paperback

by Gareth Williams

From the award-winning author of Angel of Death comes a comprehensive and engaging narrative of mankind's battle against polio.For much of the twentieth century, polio inspired terror as the 'morning paralysis' which could invade any home and disable or kill a previously healthy person. The cruelty of the disease is epitomised by the iconic images of the crippled child and the iron lung. This is the story of mankind's struggle against polio, is compelling, exciting and full of twists and pardoxes. One of the grand challenges of modern medicine, it was a battleground between good and bad science. Some research won Nobel Prizes; other work was flawed or fraudulent, holding up progress and endangering patients' lives. Gareth Williams takes an original view of the journey to understanding and defeating polio, exploring the profoundly moving experiences of victims alongside the medical and scientific landmarks in the history of the disease. Praise for Angel of 'An engaging narrative, in which medical history is interweaved with social history and reflections on contemporary issues' BBC History Magazine 'Wonderful. Wonderfully-researched, vividly-written, an example of medical history at its absolute best.' Michael Neve

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Medical, Health

Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Charlotte Stobart · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good book which aligns with my personal interests.
It did a good job at coherently tracking changes and developments in the story of polio, weaving scientific facts with personal stories and testimonies in a way which served to humanise and shine light on a very challenging part of history.
I really liked the chapter about fear, and found it to be a very interesting lens through which to consider and understand polio.
Gareth Williams is a very good writer who is able to strike a good balance between being informative and engaging.
This book might be a bit heavy for a casual reader, but I really enjoyed it. There was quite a lot of medical jargon and it was a little wordy and academic in places, but it greatly enhanced my understanding and I found it very compelling.

[Lawrence · Rating 4 out of 5]

Polio became one of the iconic diseases of the 20th century because of its horrific impact on victims and society. Until effective vaccines were introduced, there was no protection against the infection, which could break into any home and paralyse or kill a previously healthy child. During the early 1950s, polio terrified Americans almost as much as the threat of nuclear annihilation - partly because the fear of polio was deliberately exploited by the March of Dimes, headed by polio survivor President Franklin D. Roosevelt, to raise funds to defeat the disease. Jonas Salk and Albert Sabin became locked in a cut-throat race to develop rival polio vaccines. Both succeeded, but their rivalry degenerated into a clash of big egos which held up progress and put patients at risk.Worldwide vaccination campaigns have pushed polio to the brink of extinction. Unfortunately, it still clings on in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Northern Nigeria, where the greatest obstacle to defeating polio is anti-Western ideology. Because of conflicts and the migration of refugees, polio is now spreading to other regions - and raising the possibility that this is becoming a battle we can never win.

[Claudia Murray · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very dense and informative book on Polio. I found it fascinating and while the sheer amount of facts that are thrown at you can be overwhelming at times, Williams managed to convey the effects of polio, both on the population as a whole as well as on a human level.
Very interesting to see the desperate struggle to create a vaccine for a disease that terrified people, especially considering now the WHO is in a campaign to rid the world of polio once and for all.

[Monica Willyard Moen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the intriguing and often mindbending story of the discovery of and treatment for polio. More like a novel then a report, this book examines the origins of polio, the race to discover the cause for it, and eventually the vaccines that freed most of the world from its grip. The author introduces us to the scientists, doctors, and charlatans who filled the field of polio research from 1910 until the late 1960s. He also describes how polio patients were treated and the eventual outcome of these treatments. He also discusses Franklin D Roosevelt and the advent of the March of Dimes.