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Splendid Solution: Jonas Salk and the Conquest of Polio
The story of the polio vaccine and its enterprising creator, published to coincide with the fiftieth anniversary of the first national vaccination program, discusses Salk's childhood during one of polio's worst epidemics and his education during the presidency of an afflicted FDR, describing how politics and a discrediting rival researcher nearly prevented the vaccine's development. 75,000 first printing.
384 pages, Hardcover
First published January 27, 2005
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About the author
Jeffrey Kluger
29 books223 followersJeffrey Kluger is Editor at Large at Time, where he has written more than 45 cover stories. Coauthor of Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13, which was the basis for the movie Apollo 13, he is also the author of 13 other books including his latest book Gemini: Stepping Stone to the Moon, the Untold Story.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 103 reviews
March 31, 2020
Kluger weaves together a gripping story about how polio consumed the public mood in the early-to-mid 20th century and about the scientific work to eradicate it. It is primarily told through the prism of Jonas Salk’s work which eventually led to a vaccine. But, as Kluger explains, the goal of a vaccine, initially, was not a foregone conclusion nor, once scientific consensus was achieved, was the method of producing it agreed upon. Salk, as a younger researcher working Tommy Francis’s lab in Michigan, was an integral part of the team that made the first flu vaccine. When he moved to set up a lab at the University of Pittsburgh, he was recruited to work on the polio crisis by the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, an organization founded by Franklin Roosevelt.
Despite the relatively dry topic of medical research, this story manages to be suspenseful. Kluger’s account of the culminating press conference in which the results of the first nationwide implementation of the vaccine were announced—a press conference!!—is the unlikely emotional highpoint of the narrative. Additionally, the history and anecdotes of how polio affected both the national consciousness and individuals while it was raging around the nation is incredibly insightful for those of us who did not live through it.
The parts of Kluger’s account that elevated it from four to five stars include his descriptions of the non-medical/scientific aspects of Salk’s work: the impact of professional competitive behavior among researchers; the importance of good, accurate publicity; the role an advocacy organization can play to organize scientific communities and direct their work; how policy makers (read: politicians) can unnecessarily complicate the work through well-meaning ignorance; and the bureaucratic and manufacturing issues that conversely hindered and accelerated production and distribution of the vaccine.
It can be argued that Salk’s life and work are described through rose-colored glasses, but this really doesn’t detract from the story. If anything, it should be a reminder to all of us of the many, many anonymous medical researchers throughout the world who are living honorable lives while toiling away, mostly unsuccessfully, to find cures and treatments for countless human maladies. That, ultimately, is this story's lesson.
Despite the relatively dry topic of medical research, this story manages to be suspenseful. Kluger’s account of the culminating press conference in which the results of the first nationwide implementation of the vaccine were announced—a press conference!!—is the unlikely emotional highpoint of the narrative. Additionally, the history and anecdotes of how polio affected both the national consciousness and individuals while it was raging around the nation is incredibly insightful for those of us who did not live through it.
The parts of Kluger’s account that elevated it from four to five stars include his descriptions of the non-medical/scientific aspects of Salk’s work: the impact of professional competitive behavior among researchers; the importance of good, accurate publicity; the role an advocacy organization can play to organize scientific communities and direct their work; how policy makers (read: politicians) can unnecessarily complicate the work through well-meaning ignorance; and the bureaucratic and manufacturing issues that conversely hindered and accelerated production and distribution of the vaccine.
It can be argued that Salk’s life and work are described through rose-colored glasses, but this really doesn’t detract from the story. If anything, it should be a reminder to all of us of the many, many anonymous medical researchers throughout the world who are living honorable lives while toiling away, mostly unsuccessfully, to find cures and treatments for countless human maladies. That, ultimately, is this story's lesson.
April 9, 2016
This book provides parallel biographies of Jonas Salk and the campaign to conquer the polio virus.
Today we tend to forget how scary polio was. Its psychological impact was especially devastating because it attacked mostly children. Until 1955, when the Salk vaccine was introduced, polio was considered the most frightening public health problem of the post-war United States. Annual epidemics were increasingly devastating. The 1952 epidemic was the worst outbreak in the nation's history. Of nearly 58,000 cases reported that year, 3,145 people died and 21,269 were left with mild to disabling paralysis, with most of its victims being children.
One of the puzzling ironies of polio is that it became more prevalent as society began to control other infectious diseases through improved sanitation and water supplies. The best theory to explain this irony is that prior to the 20th century the polio virus was prevalent but immunity to it was widespread. This is because prior to the 20th century the population was exposed to a constant and low level of the virus through the poorer sanitation conditions that were generally present. This condition enhanced a natural immunity within the population. When the environment became less contaminated the prevailing immunity to polio was consequently decreased. Of people exposed to the polio virus, only 5 percent have symptoms. Of those who become ill, one in twenty of the cases are fatal.
One thing I don't understand is where the virus disappeared to in the winter months. Its occurrence was seasonal with it returning with warm weather. If it needed a human host it seems like it should get worse in the winter (like the common cold) when people are in close proximity to each other.
The author did a very good job of including various human interest stories. The horror of the disease was brought home to the reader by telling the stories of some of victims. Even though the reader knows how the story is going to end, the narrative unfolds in such a way that it builds suspense. The book reads like a medical thriller.
One thing I noticed is that Albert Sabin (developer of the oral polio vaccine) comes across in this book as a jealous small minded competitor of Salk's. He was critical of Salk at every step of his research and recommend that Salk's vaccine not be used because he thought his own vaccine based on a live virus would be better. The only problem was his vaccine was a couple years later in development, and waiting for it would cause thousands more to be victimized.
The book tells of Salk's home life. I fell in love with his family consisting of his wife DonnaCarol and three boys. One touching scene is when one of his young sons hides under his bed to avoid getting a shot of the vaccine. I was saddened to learn in the book's epilog that Jonas and DonnaCarol were later divorced. I fear that Salk may be another one of those men who switched to a younger trophy wife after he became rich and famous.
The book includes some critical remarks about Jonas Salk. His failure to thank his laboratory staff at the public announcement of the vaccine's success is mentioned several times. Apparently, some of his colleagues never forgave him for it.
Today we tend to forget how scary polio was. Its psychological impact was especially devastating because it attacked mostly children. Until 1955, when the Salk vaccine was introduced, polio was considered the most frightening public health problem of the post-war United States. Annual epidemics were increasingly devastating. The 1952 epidemic was the worst outbreak in the nation's history. Of nearly 58,000 cases reported that year, 3,145 people died and 21,269 were left with mild to disabling paralysis, with most of its victims being children.
One of the puzzling ironies of polio is that it became more prevalent as society began to control other infectious diseases through improved sanitation and water supplies. The best theory to explain this irony is that prior to the 20th century the polio virus was prevalent but immunity to it was widespread. This is because prior to the 20th century the population was exposed to a constant and low level of the virus through the poorer sanitation conditions that were generally present. This condition enhanced a natural immunity within the population. When the environment became less contaminated the prevailing immunity to polio was consequently decreased. Of people exposed to the polio virus, only 5 percent have symptoms. Of those who become ill, one in twenty of the cases are fatal.
One thing I don't understand is where the virus disappeared to in the winter months. Its occurrence was seasonal with it returning with warm weather. If it needed a human host it seems like it should get worse in the winter (like the common cold) when people are in close proximity to each other.
The author did a very good job of including various human interest stories. The horror of the disease was brought home to the reader by telling the stories of some of victims. Even though the reader knows how the story is going to end, the narrative unfolds in such a way that it builds suspense. The book reads like a medical thriller.
One thing I noticed is that Albert Sabin (developer of the oral polio vaccine) comes across in this book as a jealous small minded competitor of Salk's. He was critical of Salk at every step of his research and recommend that Salk's vaccine not be used because he thought his own vaccine based on a live virus would be better. The only problem was his vaccine was a couple years later in development, and waiting for it would cause thousands more to be victimized.
The book tells of Salk's home life. I fell in love with his family consisting of his wife Donna
The book includes some critical remarks about Jonas Salk. His failure to thank his laboratory staff at the public announcement of the vaccine's success is mentioned several times. Apparently, some of his colleagues never forgave him for it.
December 3, 2008
This book was well written in many ways. It managed to teach me a lot about vaccines without being dry at all. It also conveyed the fear of the polio era well. Great photographs and historical detail.
But the reason I can only give this book 3 stars is its relentless positive spin on all of Salk's actions. It was frustrating that the book chose to focus on one main character, and then gave such a poor sense of him as a complex individual. The endless heroic spin (I got it the first time Salk's skill with giving kids shots was detailed; did it have to be repeated every time?) seemed to lead to nearly demonizing other researchers, particularly Sabin, and making every choice he made look faultless (should we not explore where the line between confidence and dangerous overconfidence is, particularly given the history of earlier polio shots?). As a result, the book ultimately felt untrustworthy, a critical fault in a non-fiction book.
This book has inspired me to look for a book or two about the institutions for the disabled in the 1950s and the history of testing on the residents, a topic which was rosily brushed past here. If anyone has any recommendations, please let me know!
But the reason I can only give this book 3 stars is its relentless positive spin on all of Salk's actions. It was frustrating that the book chose to focus on one main character, and then gave such a poor sense of him as a complex individual. The endless heroic spin (I got it the first time Salk's skill with giving kids shots was detailed; did it have to be repeated every time?) seemed to lead to nearly demonizing other researchers, particularly Sabin, and making every choice he made look faultless (should we not explore where the line between confidence and dangerous overconfidence is, particularly given the history of earlier polio shots?). As a result, the book ultimately felt untrustworthy, a critical fault in a non-fiction book.
This book has inspired me to look for a book or two about the institutions for the disabled in the 1950s and the history of testing on the residents, a topic which was rosily brushed past here. If anyone has any recommendations, please let me know!
April 9, 2016
A well-dramatized telling of the Salk polio vaccine's origins. It's a gripping read, demonstrating the widespread terror of polio season among parents and kids, even telling the sad stories of a few polio victims who played roles in the vaccine's testing and development.
But sometimes it felt like the author focused too much on the researchers' human drama---Salk's killed-virus vaccine vs. Sabin's live-virus! Which will win? Will one fail dramatically like the Brodie vaccine? What catty snipes will they make next?---and didn't explain why each scientist felt his belief was justified.
This story had such potential to illustrate why researchers & statisticians design studies the way they do---why the trials have to be just so in order for the sample results to reflect something meaningful about the whole population. That concern is touched on in this book, but shallowly. Still, the book is worth reading as it is.
There's also some good history about FDR and his support of the fight against polio. I hadn't known he developed polio as an adult, after already being a (not-so-successful?) politician/candidate.
Moving, too, were the mentions of Salk's insurance inquiries (how much would it cost to insure yourself and lab colleagues against possible self-infection with polio? a test-tube could break or virus samples could splatter on you at any time, as they did when the Life photographers visited... oof...)
...and of his early vaccination of his own family (you have to be seriously confident of your results to give your own sons this vaccine!).
Favorite parts and statistical questions:
* p.5: "Facts were precious enough commodities when you needed them; why violate them once you'd got them in hand?"
* p.67: I didn't know March of Dimes was started to raise funds for polio, nor that it was a pun on a popular newsreel March of Time.
* p.57-58: Pacifists during WW2 were not dismissed from the draft---they were put to work as vaccine guinea pigs!
* p.72-73: Salk also worked earlier on a flu vaccine, and he ran into the same problems we have today of quick-changing flu strains from year to year. I never thought about the intense "epidemiological reconnaissance work" or "viral scouting" needed to stay ahead of each year's flu. What a great job title: Viral Scout.
* p.117: "It was the zero-sum nature of the virus game that the only way to prevent more blameless children from streaming into the upper floors [of the polio hospital] was to sicken and kill the blameless monkeys in the basement. Somewhere, perhaps, was the person who could tease out all the moral threads of that arrangement, but polio scientists, as a rule, could not turn their minds to the task. Once the virus was beaten, all the creatures---the ones upstairs and the ones below---could be left in peace. Until someone offered a better deal, this was the one they would have to take."
* p.228: Sabin, a "rival" scientists, thinks a live-virus vaccine would work better than Salk's killed-virus vaccine (but doesn't have one ready yet himself). When Congress deliberates on Salk's field trial, Sabin says: "I for one, would strongly oppose large-scale work on hundreds of thousands of children based on the work of any one investigator..." which is a reasonable argument. I wish the author had spent a bit more time explaining Sabin's POV and rationale, instead of presenting it as just a personal conflict between two guys. Also, how did Salk's preliminary trials differ from the massively-failed Brodie-Park-Kolmer vaccine trials a few decades before? Clearly they did---but how?
* p.234: Nice quick summary of double-blind trial vs observational controls. But what justified Salk's faith in his vaccine, without the gold standard of a double-blind trial? Just the small-scale trial results around p.187? When is lab-science proof good enough for medicine, vs. statistical proof of a massive trial?
* p.238: If Salk thought it's unethical to give placebos (and hence preferred observational controls over a double-blind trial)... then why was it ethical to give the drug to 2nd-graders but not at all to 1st- or 3rd-graders? Why is refusal to treat any better than placebo, which would at least give you sounder statistical evidence?
* p.242: Tommy Francis (Salk's former supervisor/mentor) led the design and analysis of the major field trial, and he convinced Salk to go for a double-blind rather than observational-control study. But how? The argument presented here is from authority: "If Francis, of all people, said a double-blind trial was the best possible one he could conduct, Salk would accept that." Surely there was much more to Francis-convincing-Salk than that!
(Also---logistically they had to end up doing a dual-mode trial: double-blind in some states, observational-controls in others. What are the statistical methods for combining such results?)
* p.245: Another curious moral question, once Salk was convinced of his vaccine's value (but before field tests were complete), about whether to give some to family & friends. Obviously there's not yet enough vaccine to share with all the strangers sending letters requesting it---does that make it immoral to share a small amount with "a handful of children in their charmed circle and not to those who happened to fall outside it"?
* p.262-3: Failure during manufacturing led to arguments over new testing procedures. 54 monkeys vs 350 monkeys per lot, and 11 safe lots required in a row before releasing any---what statistical arguments justified these numbers? I wish the author gave a bit more space for the NIH statisticians' response to Rivers' comment: "As far as I'm concerned, you can take your pencil and paper and shove them up your ass."
* p.277: Large-scale implementation of a trial is a mess. This section should be required reading for people who want to do massive data collection. Technical issues with syringes and manufacturing; personal issues with getting the kids to the shot facilities; even confusion over the simple fact that blood samples must be drawn from the same kids who got the shots!
* p.280: Salk, impatient to change a manufacturing procedure: "Data from these experiments have not yet cooled off. But it is said that to await certainty is to await eternity."
* p.311: Salk again, this time waiting out a possible manufacturing flaw: "The people of Idaho have had a tragic experience. Our deep concern has not been a secret. But only when the evidence is available will the state be in a position to draw a sound conclusion."
(I like that---"a sound conclusion"---that's what experimental design is all about: you can't always know if your conclusion is correct, but at least it can be soundly drawn.)
But sometimes it felt like the author focused too much on the researchers' human drama---Salk's killed-virus vaccine vs. Sabin's live-virus! Which will win? Will one fail dramatically like the Brodie vaccine? What catty snipes will they make next?---and didn't explain why each scientist felt his belief was justified.
This story had such potential to illustrate why researchers & statisticians design studies the way they do---why the trials have to be just so in order for the sample results to reflect something meaningful about the whole population. That concern is touched on in this book, but shallowly. Still, the book is worth reading as it is.
There's also some good history about FDR and his support of the fight against polio. I hadn't known he developed polio as an adult, after already being a (not-so-successful?) politician/candidate.
Moving, too, were the mentions of Salk's insurance inquiries (how much would it cost to insure yourself and lab colleagues against possible self-infection with polio? a test-tube could break or virus samples could splatter on you at any time, as they did when the Life photographers visited... oof...)
...and of his early vaccination of his own family (you have to be seriously confident of your results to give your own sons this vaccine!).
Favorite parts and statistical questions:
* p.5: "Facts were precious enough commodities when you needed them; why violate them once you'd got them in hand?"
* p.67: I didn't know March of Dimes was started to raise funds for polio, nor that it was a pun on a popular newsreel March of Time.
* p.57-58: Pacifists during WW2 were not dismissed from the draft---they were put to work as vaccine guinea pigs!
* p.72-73: Salk also worked earlier on a flu vaccine, and he ran into the same problems we have today of quick-changing flu strains from year to year. I never thought about the intense "epidemiological reconnaissance work" or "viral scouting" needed to stay ahead of each year's flu. What a great job title: Viral Scout.
* p.117: "It was the zero-sum nature of the virus game that the only way to prevent more blameless children from streaming into the upper floors [of the polio hospital] was to sicken and kill the blameless monkeys in the basement. Somewhere, perhaps, was the person who could tease out all the moral threads of that arrangement, but polio scientists, as a rule, could not turn their minds to the task. Once the virus was beaten, all the creatures---the ones upstairs and the ones below---could be left in peace. Until someone offered a better deal, this was the one they would have to take."
* p.228: Sabin, a "rival" scientists, thinks a live-virus vaccine would work better than Salk's killed-virus vaccine (but doesn't have one ready yet himself). When Congress deliberates on Salk's field trial, Sabin says: "I for one, would strongly oppose large-scale work on hundreds of thousands of children based on the work of any one investigator..." which is a reasonable argument. I wish the author had spent a bit more time explaining Sabin's POV and rationale, instead of presenting it as just a personal conflict between two guys. Also, how did Salk's preliminary trials differ from the massively-failed Brodie-Park-Kolmer vaccine trials a few decades before? Clearly they did---but how?
* p.234: Nice quick summary of double-blind trial vs observational controls. But what justified Salk's faith in his vaccine, without the gold standard of a double-blind trial? Just the small-scale trial results around p.187? When is lab-science proof good enough for medicine, vs. statistical proof of a massive trial?
* p.238: If Salk thought it's unethical to give placebos (and hence preferred observational controls over a double-blind trial)... then why was it ethical to give the drug to 2nd-graders but not at all to 1st- or 3rd-graders? Why is refusal to treat any better than placebo, which would at least give you sounder statistical evidence?
* p.242: Tommy Francis (Salk's former supervisor/mentor) led the design and analysis of the major field trial, and he convinced Salk to go for a double-blind rather than observational-control study. But how? The argument presented here is from authority: "If Francis, of all people, said a double-blind trial was the best possible one he could conduct, Salk would accept that." Surely there was much more to Francis-convincing-Salk than that!
(Also---logistically they had to end up doing a dual-mode trial: double-blind in some states, observational-controls in others. What are the statistical methods for combining such results?)
* p.245: Another curious moral question, once Salk was convinced of his vaccine's value (but before field tests were complete), about whether to give some to family & friends. Obviously there's not yet enough vaccine to share with all the strangers sending letters requesting it---does that make it immoral to share a small amount with "a handful of children in their charmed circle and not to those who happened to fall outside it"?
* p.262-3: Failure during manufacturing led to arguments over new testing procedures. 54 monkeys vs 350 monkeys per lot, and 11 safe lots required in a row before releasing any---what statistical arguments justified these numbers? I wish the author gave a bit more space for the NIH statisticians' response to Rivers' comment: "As far as I'm concerned, you can take your pencil and paper and shove them up your ass."
* p.277: Large-scale implementation of a trial is a mess. This section should be required reading for people who want to do massive data collection. Technical issues with syringes and manufacturing; personal issues with getting the kids to the shot facilities; even confusion over the simple fact that blood samples must be drawn from the same kids who got the shots!
* p.280: Salk, impatient to change a manufacturing procedure: "Data from these experiments have not yet cooled off. But it is said that to await certainty is to await eternity."
* p.311: Salk again, this time waiting out a possible manufacturing flaw: "The people of Idaho have had a tragic experience. Our deep concern has not been a secret. But only when the evidence is available will the state be in a position to draw a sound conclusion."
(I like that---"a sound conclusion"---that's what experimental design is all about: you can't always know if your conclusion is correct, but at least it can be soundly drawn.)
April 18, 2017
Polio was such a scary disease; we all feared it as kids even though the Vaccine was already widely in use when I had my sugar cube in the early 60s. Learning about how President Franklin Roosevelt contracted it in the early 1920s & learned to live with it has always been inspiring to be certain but actually seeing first hand family friends & relatives who "lived" in the prison of an iron lung made Polio the most dreaded disease of my youth.
This I enjoyed & found joy reading this book about how the inspired minds of Jonas Salk & others worked to find the preventative cure.
This I enjoyed & found joy reading this book about how the inspired minds of Jonas Salk & others worked to find the preventative cure.
July 31, 2007
This is an excellent narrative if you're looking for a rosy view of Salk's accomplishments. The author is too kind to Salk, and refuses to acknowledge any of the scientist's detractor's arguments. I suppose it's hard to do so when the close relatives of the subject of your biography provided you with all of the personal correspondence of said subject, as was the case here.
July 23, 2020
A friend recommended this book to me; I told her that I was one of the test cases for the vaccine. Finally got around to reading the book. Wow! it is gripping. Exciting. A look at Pittsburgh and the USA in the early 50s. Inside the search. Jeffrey Kluger has written a page-turner about scientists, politicians, FDR, and the US in the hands of a pandemic. Highly recommended.
January 28, 2018
Fascinating story
This is a very readable story of the conquest of the Polio virus. It is also the sad story of the many dedicated researchers that many times work even harder than the research directors; but receive very little or no recognition for their labor.
This is a very readable story of the conquest of the Polio virus. It is also the sad story of the many dedicated researchers that many times work even harder than the research directors; but receive very little or no recognition for their labor.
March 4, 2016
In the book Splendid Solution Jeffrey Kluger explains the panic and desperation felt by many during the polio epidemic. He highlights the life of Jonas Salk and his conquest to create a vaccination that would prevent children from contracting polio. The book takes place in New York where the most dense number of cases we found during the height of the epidemic, 1940s-1955. It begins by describing the constant fear felt by citizens, especially parents of young children, during this time. Many people wanted answers to questions there weren't answers to and people begun creating theories that the government was making little white coffins because they were purposefully creating vaccinations that would infect their children. Jonas Salk, one of the highly accused scientists working on the vaccine, took a lot of abuse of during the epidemic. Many people did not trust his vaccines and thought he was going to sabotage them. To prove he genuinely made a good vaccine he administered it to himself, his wife, and their sons as well. On April 12th 1955 the results of the first trial of vaccines, tested on over one million children, were collected at the vaccine proved that it was effective. Jonas Salk had gone from an untrustworthy man to a hero overnight. Two years after the creation of the vaccine the number of polio patients went from 15,000 per year to 60 per year.
The book Splendid Solutions offers great information about the fear of everyone in the United States during the polio epidemic. It gives a great representation of what it was like back then when mothers were afraid to take their babies out of their home in fear of them being infected. Kluger also informs the reader about all the precautions that families took in order to reduce the risk of infection; men did not bring their shoe in the home, cats were drowned and killed, and children weren't allowed to eat ice cream, among many others. All of these illogical causes were created because of confusion and desperation for answers. This book covers everything you would ever need to know about polio from the causes, the creation of the vaccination, and the crippling effects of the disease on its victims. A lot of knowledge can be taken from this book and it will prove to be a valuable source while writing my capstone project.
The book Splendid Solutions offers great information about the fear of everyone in the United States during the polio epidemic. It gives a great representation of what it was like back then when mothers were afraid to take their babies out of their home in fear of them being infected. Kluger also informs the reader about all the precautions that families took in order to reduce the risk of infection; men did not bring their shoe in the home, cats were drowned and killed, and children weren't allowed to eat ice cream, among many others. All of these illogical causes were created because of confusion and desperation for answers. This book covers everything you would ever need to know about polio from the causes, the creation of the vaccination, and the crippling effects of the disease on its victims. A lot of knowledge can be taken from this book and it will prove to be a valuable source while writing my capstone project.
December 4, 2014
Finally I got around to reading the 2007 All Iowa Reads book. Public libraries around the state have been sponsoring discussions of Splendid Solution and will continue to do so throughout the year. The story starts with the polio epidemics of the early 20th century, focusing on one in Manhattan in the summer of 1916 when Jonas Salk was a toddler. Salk's later childhood and early adulthood are also put in context of major polio incidents including Franklin Roosevelt's struggle with the disease and the creation of the Foundation for Infantile Paralysis (now know as the March of Dimes), which became the primary sponsor for polio research. The later chapters of the book focus solely on the work of Salk and his team to create the miracle vaccine just as the worst polio seasons ever hit the country.
As someone born years after Salk's vaccine made polio a distant memory, I really appreciated Kluger's decision to discuss polio in the context of American society during the first half of the 20th century. Sure, he could have been more detailed in his science, but for a general audience book like this, I think a socially focused story was more appropriate. It really struck a chord with me to learn how panicked mothers kept their children from going to the park and panicked cities prevented children from going to movie theaters and public swimming pools in the hopes of preventing the spread of this debilitating illness. I also appreciated seeing the political finesse required to navigate the scientific research community. While it's easy to get fed up with the bureaucracy of such set ups, it's truly inspiring to watch someone navigate those treacherous waters in order to accomplish something truly incredible for the common good.
Reading the stories posted by Iowans who remember polio, I realize there are a lot of details about the disease, especially it's treatment that I would I would have liked to read more about, but I understand that a book about the polio vaccine is going to focus on prevention rather than treatment. Essentially I'm impressed that a book on a topic I wasn't terribly interested in, now has me wanting to learn more about that topic.
As someone born years after Salk's vaccine made polio a distant memory, I really appreciated Kluger's decision to discuss polio in the context of American society during the first half of the 20th century. Sure, he could have been more detailed in his science, but for a general audience book like this, I think a socially focused story was more appropriate. It really struck a chord with me to learn how panicked mothers kept their children from going to the park and panicked cities prevented children from going to movie theaters and public swimming pools in the hopes of preventing the spread of this debilitating illness. I also appreciated seeing the political finesse required to navigate the scientific research community. While it's easy to get fed up with the bureaucracy of such set ups, it's truly inspiring to watch someone navigate those treacherous waters in order to accomplish something truly incredible for the common good.
Reading the stories posted by Iowans who remember polio, I realize there are a lot of details about the disease, especially it's treatment that I would I would have liked to read more about, but I understand that a book about the polio vaccine is going to focus on prevention rather than treatment. Essentially I'm impressed that a book on a topic I wasn't terribly interested in, now has me wanting to learn more about that topic.
June 2, 2015
I was drawn to this book after watching a Salk documentary where I learned that this incredibly selfless and humanitarian scientist refused to patent his namesaked polio vaccination because he wanted to make sure it saved all the lives it could save. He was not the least concerned with making money off it or becoming famous.
This is a well-written book and time log of Jonas Salk's successful quest to prophylactically cure polio. Kluger definitely did his homework and I enjoyed learning about one of the great endeavors in American history. My complaint is that he didn't expound further on the heroic nature of Salk, a man who truly strove to make the world a better place and lived it to the hilt.
People of my generation and younger have no idea what a fatal scourge polio was, nothing in the 1970s onward is even in the same ballpark. It took a lot of people and a lot of hard work to impact millions of lives, but I have to say it could not have happened without Jonas Salk.
There were bumps and bruises and ups and downs and crazy hurdles. There were detractors including a racist psychotic from near Miami who harassed Salk to no end through personal letters and through media. Kluger does a great job walking you through that and understanding how the benevolent ends motivated the means.
He certainly points out the many instances where Salk's good nature and modesty emerged, including several pages on how he tried to change the vaccine name to something else. He reacted with great equanimity to people who were cruel and unfair to him including the wacko from Miami and fellow polo vaccine pioneer Albert Sabin.
I guess Kluger's approach was just to give the story and allow the reader to make a judgment, which is fair enough. I just would have liked it better personally with a little more boasting about the ethics of his protagonist because I think Salk is the best role model for America you will ever want to read about. We can all learn from his actions as well as have our lives saved by his vaccine.
This is a well-written book and time log of Jonas Salk's successful quest to prophylactically cure polio. Kluger definitely did his homework and I enjoyed learning about one of the great endeavors in American history. My complaint is that he didn't expound further on the heroic nature of Salk, a man who truly strove to make the world a better place and lived it to the hilt.
People of my generation and younger have no idea what a fatal scourge polio was, nothing in the 1970s onward is even in the same ballpark. It took a lot of people and a lot of hard work to impact millions of lives, but I have to say it could not have happened without Jonas Salk.
There were bumps and bruises and ups and downs and crazy hurdles. There were detractors including a racist psychotic from near Miami who harassed Salk to no end through personal letters and through media. Kluger does a great job walking you through that and understanding how the benevolent ends motivated the means.
He certainly points out the many instances where Salk's good nature and modesty emerged, including several pages on how he tried to change the vaccine name to something else. He reacted with great equanimity to people who were cruel and unfair to him including the wacko from Miami and fellow polo vaccine pioneer Albert Sabin.
I guess Kluger's approach was just to give the story and allow the reader to make a judgment, which is fair enough. I just would have liked it better personally with a little more boasting about the ethics of his protagonist because I think Salk is the best role model for America you will ever want to read about. We can all learn from his actions as well as have our lives saved by his vaccine.
May 18, 2007
Very interesting. The story begins in 1916 with one of the worst polio epidemics in US history (27,000 cases of which 6,000 were fatal). Some deduced cats were carriers, and in the span of one week in July, some 72,000 were eliminated using a variety of inhumane methods.
The book continues chronologically through the life of Jonas Salk and the lives and his work in finding a polio vaccine. The author provides startling statistics on the number of people afflicted (mostly children). In 1937, Franklin Delano Roosevelt co-founded the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis. Through various fund drives, the foundation was able to provide grants to help rehabilitate those afflicted, but eventually, supported vaccine research and development. Typing the three different polio strains was tedious. The number of monkeys used for the research is astounding. Disagreements between a live versus a dead or killed vaccine were constant. Finally, the announcement was made in 1955 that Salk's killed vaccine worked.
The book took some time to get into, but became more exciting as it progressed. I was personally interested in this book because my mother contracted polio in 1944 when she was only 18 months old and wears a full leg brace on her left leg. It's possible her older brother contracted a mild case as well. I remember many times listening to my grandmother talk about when my mother became sick. How the house was quarantined. Thinking, if only she could have gotten immediate therapy upon diagnosis, she might have been able to regain some strength and use of her leg. My grandmother often came to tears over this. I cannot imagine the stress mothers and families had knowing they could do nothing to protect their children, and the euphoria and excitement when the vaccine announcement was made.
The book continues chronologically through the life of Jonas Salk and the lives and his work in finding a polio vaccine. The author provides startling statistics on the number of people afflicted (mostly children). In 1937, Franklin Delano Roosevelt co-founded the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis. Through various fund drives, the foundation was able to provide grants to help rehabilitate those afflicted, but eventually, supported vaccine research and development. Typing the three different polio strains was tedious. The number of monkeys used for the research is astounding. Disagreements between a live versus a dead or killed vaccine were constant. Finally, the announcement was made in 1955 that Salk's killed vaccine worked.
The book took some time to get into, but became more exciting as it progressed. I was personally interested in this book because my mother contracted polio in 1944 when she was only 18 months old and wears a full leg brace on her left leg. It's possible her older brother contracted a mild case as well. I remember many times listening to my grandmother talk about when my mother became sick. How the house was quarantined. Thinking, if only she could have gotten immediate therapy upon diagnosis, she might have been able to regain some strength and use of her leg. My grandmother often came to tears over this. I cannot imagine the stress mothers and families had knowing they could do nothing to protect their children, and the euphoria and excitement when the vaccine announcement was made.
September 9, 2012
This is an interesting inside look at the work, decisions, and history that led to a vaccine for polio with a focus specifically on the work of Jonas Salk. Although this book has a primary biographical focus, it none-the-less spends a good deal of its contents regarding the underlying science of immunization. It is interesting to me to see how, to a great extent, the work on the polio vaccination was not made up of giant leaps of genius or insight, but an ongoing doggedness to develop and prove a method that could be safely applied. Science, at a certain level, changes, not by discovery alone, but by a series of choices on how a problem can be approached and resolved or circumvented.
Here are some items I find interesting from this book:
1. The explanation of how virus typing is done was very intriguing. We are highly reliant these days on the visual--and so its is particularly interesting to see how a biological science, faced with a virus too small to see, devises a method to know what that virus is. The number of hours and lives of monkeys and other animals sacrificed to this work was eye-opening.
2. Because a vaccine aims to stop infections, but does not cure the disease, it does not resolve various important issues. For instance, exactly how the disease is spread is not resolved. Similarly, people who have had polio are not healed. The vaccination work does not need to develop methods to treat the disease or to diagnose it quickly.
3. The argument of whether a live virus or dead virus is more effective or safer is not resolved.
4. One sees and begins to understand the ongoing importance of equipment and manufacturing techniques including such things as: development of plastics and rubber for syringes, disposable needles, electron microscopy, centrifuge and filtering technology, and growth mediums.
Here are some items I find interesting from this book:
1. The explanation of how virus typing is done was very intriguing. We are highly reliant these days on the visual--and so its is particularly interesting to see how a biological science, faced with a virus too small to see, devises a method to know what that virus is. The number of hours and lives of monkeys and other animals sacrificed to this work was eye-opening.
2. Because a vaccine aims to stop infections, but does not cure the disease, it does not resolve various important issues. For instance, exactly how the disease is spread is not resolved. Similarly, people who have had polio are not healed. The vaccination work does not need to develop methods to treat the disease or to diagnose it quickly.
3. The argument of whether a live virus or dead virus is more effective or safer is not resolved.
4. One sees and begins to understand the ongoing importance of equipment and manufacturing techniques including such things as: development of plastics and rubber for syringes, disposable needles, electron microscopy, centrifuge and filtering technology, and growth mediums.
August 12, 2010
Polio was a feared disease of my parents' time, and other than getting the shot as a baby, hearing about March of Dimes fundraisers, and learning briefly about FDR in school, I didn't think much about it until college, when one of my peers did her senior seminar on the battle between Jonas Salk and Albert Sabin over the development of the vaccine. I don't know if she used this book for her presentation, but in retrospect, had I been in her shoes, I would have.
Obviously, the book chronicles the development of the Salk vaccine, but Sabin's counterpoint throughout the process is addressed as well. I felt that the author did an excellent job with the history of polio in America, which in turn emphasized how important this vaccine was in altering the fates of generations of children. He also covers the trials and tribulations of the vaccine's development well, showing that there never was a true 'Eureka!' moment, because even by the end of the book, the occasional child stil gets polio, and these cases are attributed to a reaction to the vaccine as opposed to acquiring the virus in the 'wild', so the vaccine isn't perfect, 50 years later.
It was the ending that kept the book from a 5th star. I realize that the book was focused on Salk and that once the vaccine was approved for widespread use, his job was essentially done. However, the author went so in depth into the history of polio before the vaccine that I expected an equally in depth analysis of the world post-vaccine, but the book ended quickly once the Salk Vaccine was released to the public.
Overall, I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn about polio and the development of the vaccine.
Obviously, the book chronicles the development of the Salk vaccine, but Sabin's counterpoint throughout the process is addressed as well. I felt that the author did an excellent job with the history of polio in America, which in turn emphasized how important this vaccine was in altering the fates of generations of children. He also covers the trials and tribulations of the vaccine's development well, showing that there never was a true 'Eureka!' moment, because even by the end of the book, the occasional child stil gets polio, and these cases are attributed to a reaction to the vaccine as opposed to acquiring the virus in the 'wild', so the vaccine isn't perfect, 50 years later.
It was the ending that kept the book from a 5th star. I realize that the book was focused on Salk and that once the vaccine was approved for widespread use, his job was essentially done. However, the author went so in depth into the history of polio before the vaccine that I expected an equally in depth analysis of the world post-vaccine, but the book ended quickly once the Salk Vaccine was released to the public.
Overall, I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn about polio and the development of the vaccine.
October 8, 2013
I remember taking the Sabin oral vaccine as a kid in the 60s and I remember my Mom and her sisters recounting how everyone had to take precautions about polio when they were kids in 40s. I also knew a few older people who had polio as kids, but it wasn't really talked about.
This book is the very enlightening story of Jonas Salk and his development of the killed virus vaccine for polio. This was a shot whereas Sabin was working on an oral vaccine made from weakened virus. Salk got done first, so the shots were used until the oral vaccine was deemed ready about a decade later. Interestingly, now that polio is mostly eradicated, the shots are back in fashion because people occasionally contract polio from the oral vaccine.
The book details the procedures used to develope and test the vaccine. It was tested in ways we would not find acceptable today - on children in state homes and such. It is interesting to see how that has changed and to note how desperate people were at the time. Some things haven't changed all that much - the politics and competition between Salk and Sabin seems similar to the competions between scientists working on AIDS research in the 80s and 90s.
A good reminder for those who think vaccines are scary and bad, the alternative is sometimes far scarier.
This book is the very enlightening story of Jonas Salk and his development of the killed virus vaccine for polio. This was a shot whereas Sabin was working on an oral vaccine made from weakened virus. Salk got done first, so the shots were used until the oral vaccine was deemed ready about a decade later. Interestingly, now that polio is mostly eradicated, the shots are back in fashion because people occasionally contract polio from the oral vaccine.
The book details the procedures used to develope and test the vaccine. It was tested in ways we would not find acceptable today - on children in state homes and such. It is interesting to see how that has changed and to note how desperate people were at the time. Some things haven't changed all that much - the politics and competition between Salk and Sabin seems similar to the competions between scientists working on AIDS research in the 80s and 90s.
A good reminder for those who think vaccines are scary and bad, the alternative is sometimes far scarier.
Read
July 8, 2010A nonfiction recommendation selected as the 2007 All Iowa Reads Book. Splendid Solution captures the race against time to find a cure for polio against the backdrop of the worst polio epidemic in U.S. history. The story weaves many themes together including Jonas Salk’s personal life, the laboratory work to find the vaccine, and politics related to funding and research. I listened to this book on disc from Tantor Media. I thought the recording was excellent and contributed to my enjoyment of the story. Michael Prichard is the narrator and his voice is wonderful ~ sounded like a 1950’s news anchor.
My grandfather contracted polio during the 1940’s epidemic in Iowa. He had Bulbar polio and spent many months in an iron lung at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City. This is a story that has personal significance to many, especially those who lived through the polio epidemic. --Kara
From ICPL Staff Picks Blog
My grandfather contracted polio during the 1940’s epidemic in Iowa. He had Bulbar polio and spent many months in an iron lung at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City. This is a story that has personal significance to many, especially those who lived through the polio epidemic. --Kara
From ICPL Staff Picks Blog
March 15, 2013
Ever since my daughter read Brad Meltzer's book "Heroes for my Son" -- she has loved Jonas Salk, so when I saw this audio book on the library shelf I took it out and listened to it with my 2 children.
It was very well written and also well read. Some of it was a little long for it goes into great depth about the research that was done. The tests that were performed and the very exact science of Polio research. I must admit that for me much of this was new to me. I knew that President Roosevelt had been paralyzed by Polio -- but just how frightening this epidemic had been and how badly people were hoping for a vaccine had been lost on me until I heard this book.
The whole generation that was affected by this disease must have been so scared. It did indeed seem to wipe through whole communities.
I have recommended this book to many people for it is a great look into relatively recent history -- but a great book about a man (and his research team) who made a difference in their world!
It was very well written and also well read. Some of it was a little long for it goes into great depth about the research that was done. The tests that were performed and the very exact science of Polio research. I must admit that for me much of this was new to me. I knew that President Roosevelt had been paralyzed by Polio -- but just how frightening this epidemic had been and how badly people were hoping for a vaccine had been lost on me until I heard this book.
The whole generation that was affected by this disease must have been so scared. It did indeed seem to wipe through whole communities.
I have recommended this book to many people for it is a great look into relatively recent history -- but a great book about a man (and his research team) who made a difference in their world!
September 27, 2013
Quite a page turner... Knowing very little of Jonas Salk, except the legend, the novel was packed with interesting information. The history of polio is littered with scientific missteps and human trajedy. The novel mixes both to concoct a captivating story.
The novel begins with the fearmongering of the vaccine in 1954. The atmosphere of 1954, created largely by the fringe, pales in comparison to the fear that emerges through the pages as polio outbreaks are detailed. The severity and huge numbers of people affected by the disease are surprising.
A range of interesting facts emerge from the text, includeing a mid-thirties Polio vaccine study fails, setting back research and public support, and conscientious objectors during WWII were used as test subjects when Salk was working on the influenza vaccine in the early forties. The scientific squabbling would be entertaining for a less serious subject.
The novel begins with the fearmongering of the vaccine in 1954. The atmosphere of 1954, created largely by the fringe, pales in comparison to the fear that emerges through the pages as polio outbreaks are detailed. The severity and huge numbers of people affected by the disease are surprising.
A range of interesting facts emerge from the text, includeing a mid-thirties Polio vaccine study fails, setting back research and public support, and conscientious objectors during WWII were used as test subjects when Salk was working on the influenza vaccine in the early forties. The scientific squabbling would be entertaining for a less serious subject.
December 31, 2009
Subtitled "Jonas Salk and the Conquest of Polio." This was a very interesting history of Salk himself, and how he prepared himself to have a profound influence on medical history. Salk was the son of Jewish immigrants, and his strong-willed mother pushed him towards a career in law. But in college, he discovered a brilliant gift for chemistry and medical research.
The book describes polio in detail - its onset, symptoms, and impact. During the 1940's and early 1950's the outbreaks in the US made the disease one of the most feared childhood ailments, crippling or killing thousands of children each year. In the "race for the cure," Salk believed that a chemically inactivated dead virus could still cause the creation of sufficient antibodies to prevent polio. He perfected his method in the mid 1950s.
The book describes polio in detail - its onset, symptoms, and impact. During the 1940's and early 1950's the outbreaks in the US made the disease one of the most feared childhood ailments, crippling or killing thousands of children each year. In the "race for the cure," Salk believed that a chemically inactivated dead virus could still cause the creation of sufficient antibodies to prevent polio. He perfected his method in the mid 1950s.
March 5, 2011
In Splendid Solution, Jeffrey Kluger tells a thorough history of the life and career of Jonas Salk and the development of the Flue and Polio vaccines that he was instrumental in delivering to the world. I found this to be a fascinating story that shows both the technical challenges for developing vaccines as well as the confrontational and political issues involved. The scientists involved are shown to be more of a collection of domineering and passionate partisans as opposed to a group of rational technologists. My only complaint for the story is that the level of detail in describing certain events seems to be excessive, as in the sequence that reports and VIP’s entered the Polio vaccine trial announcement ceremony. That said, Splendid Solutions tells an important story that saved perhaps millions of shattered lives over the last 50 years. I give Splendid Solution a good read.
June 26, 2011
Great book! I felt like I was not just reading about the polio epidemic, but was actually experiencing it first-hand. I especially enjoyed the scientific and ethical debates, such as passive/active immunity, live/killed virus, and double-blind/observed controls. I was intrigued by the political and logistical challenges faced by Salk and his team.
My only criticism is that the book ended rather abruptly. I would have liked to have seen more coverage of the field trial - and subsequent roll-out - of the Salk vaccine. Moreover, given the significance of the Salk/Sabin rivalry, as well as the global ramifications of the live-vaccine trials, I thought that further discussion of the transition to the Sabin vaccine was warranted. The issues raised in the last few pages could have been examined in greater depth.
My only criticism is that the book ended rather abruptly. I would have liked to have seen more coverage of the field trial - and subsequent roll-out - of the Salk vaccine. Moreover, given the significance of the Salk/Sabin rivalry, as well as the global ramifications of the live-vaccine trials, I thought that further discussion of the transition to the Sabin vaccine was warranted. The issues raised in the last few pages could have been examined in greater depth.
October 15, 2017
Recounts a time that was overwhelming and scary to all, but has been forgotten in the successful outcome of vaccinations. An interesting story of a man, the scientific world, journalism, and launches of new products.
Highly readable, an account of a wide stage of characters from the President of the US, to the wife on the sidelines, to the children whose lives were at stake. It is a part of our 20th century history that should be remembered but instead has been forgotten because of the success of the vaccine efforts.
It is also the story of how science works, not in a straight trajectory, but one that stops and goes, deviates, and often just because of human psyches. It is a story of how science turns its findings over to businesses and how whether science or business attention to detail and focus on the goal are critical.
Highly readable, an account of a wide stage of characters from the President of the US, to the wife on the sidelines, to the children whose lives were at stake. It is a part of our 20th century history that should be remembered but instead has been forgotten because of the success of the vaccine efforts.
It is also the story of how science works, not in a straight trajectory, but one that stops and goes, deviates, and often just because of human psyches. It is a story of how science turns its findings over to businesses and how whether science or business attention to detail and focus on the goal are critical.
May 4, 2016
I enjoyed the book. It was a good history of polio and the work of Jonas Salk and the development of his vaccine. It was a recital of the history and a little about Salk. But it wasn't very deep. There was nothing of the real politics or the people in any depth. I feel I don't know Salk at the end. The book starts out painting him as a person who cares about his people and ends showing that he was more of an aparatchic who took the credit and snubbed his team. Sabin started out being the bad guy the way the author painted him, but in the end he was more honest. I didn't much like Salk by the end, which may be the real person, and maybe the author intended it that way. It is a good book to read for the history. Very light on the science though.
July 23, 2017
I recently read the "Splendid Deception" which told the story of Roosevelt's efforts to hide his use of a wheelchair because of his paralysis due to polio. My son-in-law loaned me this book to further tell the story of polio and the efforts by Jonas Salk and his lab at Pittsburgh to develop a vaccine. I happen to be a beneficiary of the Salk vaccine, being the right age to get all three shots. It's an interesting story of the early NIH and other agencies funding researchers to develop the vaccine. I give much credit to Salk who stuck with it and was meticulous in his scientific process. I went to school with kids in leg braces. We were all afraid of ending up in an iron lung. I thank Salk and others who helped my kids grow up without measles, polio, etc.
March 5, 2009
This is a fascinating look at the development of the Polio vaccine. I'm just starting as I write this, but I'm drawn in big-time. I remember eating the polio sugar cubes when I was litle. They used to really stress that we need to eat it. I remember eating it out of little paper cups like sacrament cups. Delivery has sure changed since those days. I'm amazed at the rumors and fears that existed around the development of the vaccine. Columnists accused the Eisenhower administration of secretly building and storing children's size coffins to bury children who took the Salk vaccine. amazing. Sounds like our day only with different things.
November 24, 2014
It's always interesting reading about issues active while you were growing up.
I was reminded of the near panic and terror I saw about me when summer would come and polio season was upon us.
Parts of this book read like a mystery and the pages seem to turn themselves. Other parts drag a little but the expalanations of the science and the politics are always interesting.
And the history of how polio affected us socially and politically is compelling. I just finished wathing the Ken Burns series on the Roosevelts and the merging of science and history in Splenid Solution was therefore even more compelling.
I was reminded of the near panic and terror I saw about me when summer would come and polio season was upon us.
Parts of this book read like a mystery and the pages seem to turn themselves. Other parts drag a little but the expalanations of the science and the politics are always interesting.
And the history of how polio affected us socially and politically is compelling. I just finished wathing the Ken Burns series on the Roosevelts and the merging of science and history in Splenid Solution was therefore even more compelling.
August 13, 2007
This was a book club book that I probably wouldn't have bumped into on my own, but I was pleasantly surprised by it. You know what happens at the end because it's historical, so it's to the author's credit that you can still become so involved in the story leading up to it. I especially liked how he described the atmosphere of fear and uncertainty during the polio epidemics of the middle half of the 20th century. He also does a great job of explaining the science of vaccinations to someone with little background knowledge without making it feel dumbed down.
February 27, 2012
I really liked this book! It was interesting to gain some perspective on how parents and the world were terrorized of their children falling victim to polio. Jonas Salk was quite a character and I'm glad that Kluger was able to bring his story to readers. The conquest of polio was indeed an important time in science, medicine, technology, and many other fields. It affected the lives of so many and I think that we take this epidemic for granted as polio has essentially been eradicated. I appreciated Kluger for his attention to detail and emotion. A great read!
June 23, 2015
I loved this book. At first I thought it would just appeal to my nursing sense and I hoped to learn more about this nearly eradicated disease-polio. But, as I read, I found myself wondering how my brother and I ever escaped contracting polio. I had no idea of the epidemic conditions in the USA during the early 1950's. What anxiety must have filled every mothers heart as summer season rolled around. If my mother was still alive I would love to probe into her thoughts about this disease and the conditions presence during my infancy. It is well documented with multiple resources.
December 3, 2007
Learned some about polio and developing vaccines. E.g., Did you know Salk tested early flu vaccines on conscientious objectors from WW2? I also didn't realize how iffy some of the early vaccines were. Although they tested on primates first, some children died in some of the early tests on people. Salk actually vaccinated himself, his wife, and his two sons -- safely.
Didn't finish because it was just too much detail about one guy and vaccine-making (yawn).
Didn't finish because it was just too much detail about one guy and vaccine-making (yawn).
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