Product Description
Here David Oshinsky tells the gripping story of the polio terror and of the intense effort to find a cure, from the March of Dimes to the discovery of the Salk and Sabin vaccines--and beyond.Drawing on newly available papers of Jonas Salk, Albert Sabin and other key players, Oshinsky paints a suspenseful portrait of the race for the cure, weaving a dramatic tale centered on the furious rivalry between Salk and Sabin. He also tells the story of Isabel Morgan, perhaps the most talented of all polio researchers, who might have beaten Salk to the prize if she had not retired to raise a family.
Oshinsky offers an insightful look at the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, which was founded in the 1930s by FDR and Basil O'Connor, it revolutionized fundraising and the perception of disease in America. Oshinsky also shows how the polio experience revolutionized the way in which the government licensed and tested new drugs before allowing them on the market, and the way in which the legal system dealt with manufacturers' liability for unsafe products. Finally, and perhaps most tellingly, Oshinsky reveals that polio was never the raging epidemic portrayed by the media, but in truth a relatively uncommon disease. But in baby-booming America--increasingly suburban, family-oriented, and hygiene-obsessed--the specter of polio, like the specter of the atomic bomb, soon became a cloud of terror over daily life.
Both a gripping scientific suspense story and a provocative social and cultural history, Polio opens a fresh window onto postwar America. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (42)

How scientific genius and philanthropy are elevated & lowered by the vicissitudes of Ego
This is a dazzling read on how cultural, political, and scientific endeavor combine to battle an enemy of humanity, and how each of the three is elevated or diminished by personal psychological forces. It portrays the fight against a scourge of nature from both the individual and the societal perspective (for these are always the two that mankind brings to bear against each Darwinian challenge presented by nature!)

This story of the battle against Polio is told by illustrating the personal journeys of four key protagonists.The first three, Jonas Salk, Ben Sabin, and Franklin D. Roosevelt, are well known as the masters of scientific research and charismatic political power respectively (FDR's status and acts as both victim and combatant, made his story even more poignant and worthy of respect) who brought their formidable intellect and personal charismato the front, and were instrumental in achieving the great victory against that most worthy agent of biological terror--the polio virus.Less well known is the work of a great master of political and philanthropic agency, Basil O'Connor, who marshaled the material and financial resources, (and funded both Salk's work and the March of Dimes--the communityarmy of volunteers and benefactors against polio), which made the work of all the rest possible. Each of the four protagonists was driven by motives mostly honorable, and inspiring, yet in the cases especially of Doctors. Salk and Sabin also subject to the distorting influence of personal ambition, and ego.In similar manner, societal fear and prejudice regarding vaccine safety and experimental design, created delays, and almost at one point crippled what was ultimately "the greatest public health experiment of all time", the Salk vaccine trial that establishedits effectiveness and enabled its mass administration nationwide, and was the single greatest collective act leading to the ultimate virtual eradication of the virus' threat.This is a fascinating subplot in the book, for it shows how human weakness can sabotage the working of both intellectual genius and inspired generous, social consciousness and action.It is thus a wonderfully written depiction of how the good and the weak combine in both Man and Society, against a potent adversary of Nature.

P.S. Those who enjoy this book, and who like myself, are eager for a repeat experience, will very likely be similarly rewarded by reading: The Great Influenza: The story of the deadliest pandemic in history.

informative but missing some important facts

The book was informative but missing some important facts. The author did a good job revealing polio; the outbreaks of the disease; that the majority of the victims are children; that the disease strikes annually during springtime, and that children living in clean neighborhoods are more likely to contact polio than the children living in slum areas. But the book did not mention facts on what causes polio and why children living in clean environments are more susceptible to the disease. The author was focused on the creation of vaccine and all the people behind it, than the disease itself. It was great to know how the vaccine was created and the obstacles that the researchers faced along the way, but I thought it was too detailed. I was expecting to read more facts about the disease, rather than the politics involved in the creation of the vaccine.

More a political than scientific script
One of the problems with downloading books rather than perusing a book in a book shop or library is the title sometimes carries hidden propraganda, misleading and sometimes gross errors. The flu epidemic began AFTER the US entry in WWI, and was one of the human costs directly atributable to our entry into WWI.The "Spanish Flu" tore through overcrowed army camps before the virus expanded into the general population.The lenthy description of FDR's fight with polio is too long on politics, and too short on the scientific. Jonas Salk's loyalty problems were brought on by the factual reality that many of the most educated and inelligent men and women in the US had a love affair with Stalin's Communism which in reality was no different than Hitler's Facism.

In the areas where the author talks simply about science, I began to wonder about his accuracy since he made so many errors regarding dates, political facts, and his personal ideology.

As one of the children who were used as tests, I welcomed the opportunity to learn more about polio, and how it was defeated.I grew up in the 1950's and still remember thefear that was part of my generation.

A wonderful story of disease, scientific progress, human egos, and change
This book should be a must read for for anyone entering the health care field. You could not put together a fictional story with any more compelling themes. The historical elements such as the role of polio in developing the modern biomedical research funding system and peer review and the intersections of research politics, and funding were absolutely fascinating. The shows the greatness of human achievement and the simultaneous flawed nature of even these same immensely talented people. Neither Salk nor Sabin appeared to understand that there was enough recognition and accolades for each to be viewed as a great contributor to ending the scourge of polio.

Some questionable information
Oshinsky may be a Pulitzer Prize winner, however he has some erroneous information in this book. I lived in San Angelo, Texas during this epidemic. The year was 1939 - NOT 1949. I was 10 years old that summer and the swimming pool was closed. I remember the hospital being filled with patients in iron lungs. The tuberculosis hospital outside of San Angelo was also filled with polio patients. So, shame on you David Oshinsky for not getting your facts correct. When I became an adult, I wondered why San Angelo. San Angelo was out in the middle of nowhere with the mesquite trees, cacti, sandstorms, horned toads and there was no pollution unless the wind blew the fumes in from the oil fields. The population at that time was approximately 55,000 people. ... Read more

Product Description
In a riveting story of courage and hope, Peg Kehret writes about months spent in a hospital when she was twelve, first struggling to survive a severe case of polio, then slowly learning to walk again. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (79)

Great book
I'm a Jr High special education teacher & I purchased this book to see if I wanted to use it with my class.I thought it was a great book and an easy read & I will definitely use it with my class this year. Of course after I purchased it here (for about $4 w/shipping) I found it in the book warehouse near me for $1, but $4 is still a good deal :)

Small Steps:The Year I Got Polio
This was an excellent book that very accurately described what children experienced when they contracted polio in the 1940's and 1950's.It was well written to be read quickly by an older child or by an adult to any child or just for their own education.Peg Kehret's memories will help as a base in any discussion of polio; what happens, how it was treated and in some cases overcome, and what health problems reoccur many years later.

Kid Review: Best Book Ever!
I really liked this book because it told you what it meant to have polio.Peg Khert told you in her own words what it was like to be a child with polio.She writes how deadly and dangerous polio was in 1949.It was heartfelt and she made friends along her hard journey.I think that kids and adults should read this book.

Great book for middle schoolers and older!
I'm a middle school science teacher. We study viruses in 8th grade. We read this book aloud each year. Peg Kehret is a children's author who had polio when she was a kid. She tells the story well giving the kids an insight into the disease and it's place in history as well.The 8th graders really are engaged listeners when we read it. Parents who have read it tell me they enjoyed it and learned from it, too. I recommend it highly.

Great book
My son will read this in school this year in 6th grade, so I read it when we purchased it.I could not put it down.It was a great book.I will look for more by this author!

I am also impressed by our school system - this story will give our 6th graders perspective on what real 'problems' are - not just the trivial things preteens and teens are usually concerned about. ... Read more

Product Description
Polio is a disease of paradoxes, the major one being that although the threat of the 'dreaded disease' ended with the Salk vaccine in 1954, many polio survivors are now experiencing the onset of 'Post-Polio Syndrome' (PPS), new but related symptoms which may include chronic fatigue, muscle weakness, intolerance to cold, and more. In his groundbreaking book, Dr. Bruno has sounded an alarming wake-up call for both doctors and PPS sufferers, including a large number who were originally misdiagnosed with something other than polio and can now pursue the medical help they need. By revealing how the treatment of polio in the past has exacerbated what we now call PPS today, THEPOLIO PARADOX provides hope and new treatment information for an entire generation. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (26)

The Polio Paradox
This book is extremely helpful in understanding Post-Polio Syndrome.Most Drs. today are just not aware of how to deal with and treat Post-Polio Syndrome.My husband had polio as a young child.He is having a lot of difficulty now with his knee and foot.This book was able to answer his many questions.Very informative and well-written book.

The Polio Paradox
Great book!Full of insightful and helpful information about the affects on polio victims about 60 years after having had polio.It helps you to understand the post polio syndrome and the symptoms that you are experiencing.

A Godsend!!!
This book should be in the hands of every PPS sufferer and every Doctor.The ignorance of the medical establishment of the treatment of PPS is absoulutely appalling.If only we had found Dr. Bruno 10 years ago...

FINALLY, QUESTIONS ANSWERED ABOUT MY SYMPTOMS
I am writing this on behalf of my husband who had Polio at the age of 7. His was non-crippling at the time and he came out of it with just a slight limp in one leg.In his early 40's he began to have unexplained symptoms, pain, muscle spasms, drawing in his legs, etc. As his ability to walk worsened, we sought help from several Neurologists as well as a Orthopedic specialist with no results~~~just tons of medicine. We told each specialist about his polio and could he possibly have Post Polio Syndrome~~~we were told there was no such thing.
While searching the internet for help, I came across Dr. Bruno's book and immediately went to Amazon to purchase it.We have since been directed to a specialist in our area for Post Polio Syndrome and feel, at last, he is going to get help.We realize there is no cure, but it is such a relief to finally be told there is such a thing as PPS and everything that can be done to make his life easier, will be done.
We highly recommend this book to anyone who may be a Polio survivor and beginning to experience symptoms.Don't wait as long as we did to find help~~~it is definitely out there!!

Polio Paradox
Excellent--well written--an easy read. This book affirms what I see clinically every day, now I can be a better support system for my patients. ... Read more

Product Description
This essential guide for polio survivors, their families, and their health care providers offers expert advice on all aspects of post-polio syndrome. Based on her extensive experience treating post-polio patients, Dr. Julie K. Silver discusses issues of crucial importance, including how to find the best medical care, deal with symptoms, sustain mobility, manage pain, approach insurance issues, and arrange a safe living environment. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

Post-Polio Syndrome: A Guide for Polio Survivors and Their Families
A lot of Polio survivors suffer from post-polio and are having problems as they age, some do not know what is happening to them and many doctors do not know how to diagnos post-polio.I havegiven this book to several of my doctors to help them help me.I also read the book often to retain the issues and solutions (if any)for my own education of my disease/

Post-Polio Syndrome
Excellent!! A must read for anyone with this diagnosis. Helpful, inspiring and her clinic can help you live your life to it's fullest.She's affilated with Mass. General and Harvard, the best in New England. This book was a life saver for me.

Excellent resource for people with who've had polio!
Dr. Julie Silver's book is the best summary I've seen of information on post-polio syndrome. Her explanations are clear, informative, and full of information that is crucial for anyone with a history of polio. I highly recommend it.

Post Polio Syndrome: A Guide for POlio Survivors & Their Families
I HIGHLY recommend this book for polio survivor and especially for every doctor that is treating a post polio person.It is a MUST! It is very easy to read & understand & not a doomsday downer in any way. I am on my second read as I am sure I missed key points and sure enough there are jewels of knowledge & necessary information WE POST POLIO survivors must do for ourselves and make sure our specialists have full grasp of our ever changing condition.PLan to mark up your copy and buy two copies or more at the beginning as you will want to make sure anyone that is trying to help you or cares about you can be fully informed.

Facts are fascinating
This book is a must for anyone who is a polio survivor, just as is TO CATCH THE SNOWFLAKES, the story of a polio winner. ... Read more

Product Description
Polio is a disease of paradoxes, the major one being that although the threat of the "dreaded disease" ended with the Salk vaccine in 1954, many polio survivors are now experiencing the onset of Post-Polio Syndrome (PPS), new but related symptoms which may include chronic fatigue, muscle weakness, intolerance to cold, joint pain, and more. In his groundbreaking book, Dr. Bruno has sounded an alarming wake-up call for both doctors and PPS sufferers, including a large number who were originally misdiagnosed with something other than polio and can now pursue the medical help they need. By revealing how the physical and emotional treatment of polio in the past has exacerbated what we now call PPS today, THE POLIO PARADOX provides hope in the form of understanding and new treatment information for an entire generation.Amazon.com Review
Outlining a program equally useful for those suffering from CFS, fibromyalgia ME, or post-polio sequelae, The Polio Paradox enables patients to overcome the emotional issues surrounding the disease and begin a helpful regimen of long-term self-care. Using simple diagrams and illustrations, along with plenty of references to medical studies the world over, Dr. Richard Bruno has written a straightforward guide that deals with both the physical and social concerns these illnesses raise.

The first section of the book outlines the recent history of the poliovirus, and how it affected, and continues to affect, several generations. From childhood agonies to adult experiences of extreme fatigue that worsen when patients attempt to stay active, every stage is examined, with a special focus on both how the virus works and how surviving the disease often resulted in a host of social stigmas. In blunt, often humorous prose, Bruno outlines recommendations to aid in dealing with recurring symptoms.

Admonishments like "walls, furniture, and spouses are not assistive devices" and "brake before you break" are aimed at helping patients develop a reasonable exercise program in combination with curtailing exhausting activities and gaining an understanding of how to live with a chronic, potentially debilitating illness. Supplying both a historical perspective and a healthy dose of practical support, Bruno offers an excellent and thorough introduction to the world of post-polio management. --Jill Lightner ... Read more

Customer Reviews (27)

Post Polio Syndrome
I am not in a position to review the book as it was purchased for a friend experiencing Post Polio Syndrome.My friend did mention that she was reassured that her symptoms were the result of the syndrome and nothing more ominous.

The Polio Paradox: What You Need to Know
A Well made book got a lot of info. easy to read I wish I new about post polioyears ago to late now .

Post Polio Syndrome
In depth reaseach on post polio and related viral diseases. Must read if you or someone you know has this. Explains why you feel rotten and what to do about it.

The Polio Paradox
Not a good first read. Mr. Bruno is depressing.I suggest Dr. Silver's book Post-Polio Syndrome, it is excellent!

Janet - It has enlightened my life
I had polio at the age of 5.I was so much luckier than alot of Polio Survivors. I got Dr. Bruno's book from the library and read it and read it at least 3X.I have recently ordered the book through Amazon and I am so excited to receive it.

He is an exceptional man, who writes so we can all understand.I will be meeting with Dr. Bruno and his team the end of March, I do not know where my new journey will lead me but I know that I will be safe and in the best of care. I recommend this book to anyone who has had Polio or has unexplained weakness, pain and fatigue everyday. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (6)

Enlightening book on polio in Texas
As a polio survivor who grew up in Fort Worth in the '50s, I was very interested in the topic of how polio was handled in Texas. I was 2 years old when I had the disease, so I have only a few very hazy memories of being in the hospital and of physical therapy afterward. This book discusses the medical aspects of polio treatment and also its impact on those who had the disease, and their families. There's also a psychological component -- how those who had the disease were treated by others, from their family to people in public. All in all, I found this an enlightening book. Certainly it's of more interest to me because I went through the experience, but I think it's worthwhile reading for anyone who is interested in how a terrifying epidemic was handled in the years before the vaccine was developed.

The Polio years in Texas: Battling a Terrifying Unknown
This book is informative as well as being interesting. This is not an easy subject to read about, but Ms. Wooten has done a good job of describing what people went through without making it depressing. It is worth the time to read about polio in Texas.

The polio years
The best book I have read in years!!!As a polio survivor,I learned SO MUCH!!!

Well written and enlightening
Dr. Wooten's book is an excellently written account of the history of polio in Texas. She captures not just the facts, but also the gestalt of the state and the country at the time. The writer ads interesting facts and asides that lend depth and context to the story she tells so eloquently. For anyone with knowledge of Texas or the medical culture here, the book provides a second level of reading in providing a background and explanation of the development of the major biomedical centers and institutions across the state. I found this a very worthwhile and enjoyable read enriching my understanding of a terrifying disease as well as the development of Texas as a medical powerhouse.

The metaphor of War is correct
The subtitle tells the truth about the scourge that brought calamity to so many lives. Battling is what the victims did, battling is was what the doctors did, battling is what the mothers did when they marched against this dread disease. Each year during the polio times my mother and her friends met in the kitchen, stood around drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes, and planned their battle strategy: They were going to go out into that cold night into that poor Queens neighborhood and wring as much money as possible from whoever answered the door. They were sure that sooner or later the money that they raised would conquer the small RNA virus that was plaguing their families. And, in theirown way, they did help win the war. So here we have the authentic history of the polio years in Texas, the real quill, told in fast, clear, language with much detail and a deep understanding of the human heart. Heather spent plenty of time and energy getting the facts straight and then using her great skill as a writer in getting the story told in an interesting and satisfying manner. Her book is recommended to those who want to know what happened, who helped (most of the clinical studies of the vaccine were done in Russia), who did't help and why. The problem got solved eventually by the cooperative efforts of many people. If only we could have similar cooperation in health care reform! ... Read more

Product Description
FOR USE IN SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES ONLY. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (6)

Living With Polio
As aa Polio survivor who has read other documents and a book by Dr. Lauro Halstead on the same subject, I found this book very poorly written, andvery very repetitive.

An important book
Wilson's book was one of my most valuable resources when I was researching my own book, LOVE, WAR & POLIO. It is chock full of important historical information on the periodic polio epidemics that swept the country in the first half of the twentieth century, as well as information on how the disease was treated and how patients were housed - often "warehoused" - and how they and their families coped or failed to. My only complaint - more of a disappointment really - was that there was very little personal information from Wilson, about his own struggles with polio, as a child and an adult. But make no mistake. This is an extremely well researched and an important document on a once-terrifying disease.

Overly Academic But Still Interesting
As a polio survivor, I was interested in reading this book which pulls together accounts from over 100 other polio survivors.While it was interesting to reading these accounts, I found the book to be over "academic", which hurt its readability quite a bit.It was thoroughly footnoted and scholarly, but was quite a slog to get through.There were also a number of places where the same points seemed to be made over and over again, sometimes separated by several pages; closer editing would have helped.Still, it is an important pull-together of narratives from these survivors, and the author's efforts are to be applauded.

Living with Polio
This book is well written, as you would expect from a professor of medical history. The author's experience with polio makes this more than a historical exercise, it is a very personal journey. It brought back my memories of cold, itchy "hot packs", the love-hate relationship with our P/Ts. This book brought a tear to my eyes. It brought back memories of pain but also of victories. Every relative of a polio survivor should read this, to understand where we came from and where we are.
Tom

Living, Not Dying, With Disease
As a person born after the invention of the polio vaccines, polio was not the scourge of my childhood, in fact, I knew practically nothing about the disease until reading this book.

"Living with Polio" tell relates the stories of people who contacted polio and their struggles with infection and polio treatments, their triumphs in life and love, and their experiences with PPS (Post-Polio Syndrome). No detail of these experiences is spared and a true and clear picture emerges of what it must have been like to live with this disease.

Of particular interest to me, a student of human sexuality education, was the inclusion by the author of the survivors sexuality.Although stricken with polio, these people did not loose their sexuality when paralysis set in and it was very refreshing to see that aspect of the experience included.

"Living with polio" was not only an informative read, it was a well written and engaging one.Highly Recommended! ... Read more

Product Description
Today, more than fifty years after the Salk vaccine was declared safe and effective against polio, the virus remains an active killer and crippler in several Third World countries-a fact that most of us around the globe have forgotten.But Janice Flood Nichols will never forget. A childhood victim of the 1953 Dewitt, New York, polio epidemic, her personal and professional life have been profoundly shaped by her experience. Nichols lost her twin brother, Frankie, to the disease and suffered temporary paralysis, leading her to choose a career as a rehabilitation counselor.Despite setbacks, Nichols has never lost her optimism. In this heartwarming memoir, she offers an intimate account of her miraculous steps to healing, the simple ways she continues to celebrate her brother's short but joyous life, and her unwavering determination to help eradicate the virus from the world. Twin Voices provides a unique and timely glimpse into one of the twentieth century's most deadly diseases. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

A Twin Bond That Transcends Even Death
For those of us born after the 1950s, we cannot imagine the terror that gripped families every summer as polio swept through their communities, killing and crippling hundreds and thousands of people, particularly children. For six-year-old Janice Flood, polio became an integral part of her family history. In 1953, her twin brother Frankie died of polio, and Jan was left temporarily crippled by the disease. Although she was fortunate to regain full movement after intensive therapy, she nearly lost her son during his birth due to her physical deformities brought on by polio, and Janice suffers today from many symptoms of post-polio syndrome. Worst of all, though, she will always mourn the loss of a twin brother who never reached his full potential. From the age of six, she would always be a "twinless twin."

Thanks to the development of the Salk and Sabin vaccines, polio was nearly eradicated in most industrialized countries, but the disease continues to cripple and kill people in many third world countries where vaccines are scarce. Having experienced firsthand the devastation that can be inflicted by polio, Janice Flood Nichols knew she had to tell her story and push for further efforts to vaccinate all of the world's children. With that in mind, she wrote the moving book, "Twin Voices: A Memoir of Polio, the Forgotten Killer."

Written through several "voices," including that of Janice, family members and friends, the doctor who cared for Janice and Frankie when they had polio, and even Frankie himself, "Twin Voices" is a fascinating read about the polio epidemic that swept the country, the frantic efforts to put a halt to its devastation, and the tragedy that befell the Flood family. This book brings home the fact that Frankie was a real little boy filled with a passion for life and all the joys that children experience. His family was, at first, shell-shocked following his death, but his twin sister Janice ultimately grew to find purpose in his passing through her work as a rehabilitation counselor for the physically disabled and her continued efforts to make sure that polio does not tragically alter the lives of more families like hers. It is also a haunting look at the "twin bond" that continues to connect Janice and her brother many years after their separation.

Enlightening
I knew very little about the polio outbreak in the 1950s but as a child I do remember being quarantined and not allowed to be with other children. After reading Janet's book I am so much more aware, not only about what was happening at that time, but what is happening now.I had no idea polio still exists.

Janet not only lived through polio devastating her immediate family, but she has researched it thoroughly."Twin Voices" is a story of Janet's life and experience; it is also book that gives the reader valuable insights.Her writing style is enticing to keep reading, her story is poignant, and her research impeccable.

This a book not to be missed reading.

A Compelling Look at Polio and Its Devastating Effects
For those of us born after the 1950s, we cannot imagine the terror that gripped families every summer as polio swept through their communities, killing and crippling hundreds and thousands of people, particularly children. For six-year-old Janice Flood, polio became an integral part of her family history. In 1953, her twin brother Frankie died of polio, and Jan was left temporarily crippled by the disease. Although she was fortunate to regain full movement after intensive therapy, she nearly lost her son during his birth due to her physical deformities brought on by polio, and Janice suffers today from many symptoms of post-polio syndrome. Worst of all, though, she will always mourn the loss of a twin brother who never reached his full potential. From the age of six, she would always be a "twinless twin."

Thanks to the development of the Salk and Sabin vaccines, polio was nearly eradicated in most industrialized countries, but the disease continues to cripple and kill people in many third world countries where vaccines are scarce. Having experienced firsthand the devastation that can be inflicted by polio, Janice Flood Nichols knew she had to tell her story and push for further efforts to vaccinate all of the world's children.

Written through several "voices," including that of Janice, family members and friends, the doctor who cared for Janice and Frankie when they had polio, and even Frankie himself, "Twin Voices" is a fascinating read about the polio epidemic that swept the country, the frantic efforts to put a halt to its devastation, and the tragedy that befell the Flood family. This book brings home the fact that Frankie was a real little boy filled with a passion for life and all the joys that children experience. His family was, at first, shell-shocked following his death, but his twin sister Janice ultimately grew to find purpose in his passing through her work as a rehabilitation counselor for the physically disabled and her continued efforts to make sure that polio does not tragically alter the lives of more families like hers. It is also a haunting look at the "twin bond" that continues to connect Janice and her brother many years after their separation.

Well-researched and touching
Reviewed by April Sullivan for Reader Views (1/08)

"Twin Voices" is a memoir by Janice Flood Nichols about a specific life-changing event.In the fall of 1953, at the age of six, she lost her twin brother to polio.Janice contracted polio as well.She survived and overcame temporary paralysis.She went on to become a rehabilitation counselor.While her experiences as a youth shaped her adult life, she never thought that fifty years later she would be writing about the experience.

Most people alive today have some memory of, or have at least heard of polio.Yet, to the surprise of everyone who has not kept up with polio research, including Janice Flood Nichols, polio is still an epidemic in Third World Countries.Although vaccines are available and worldwide eradication is possible, funding and education are needed to make this a reality.Knowing first-hand the devastation of polio, Janice was compelled to tell her story in an effort to educate and do her part to eradicate this deadly disease.

"Twin Voices" is structured in a unique way.Janice invited professionals, friends, and family members to lend their voices to the story.Each chapter is by one of many characters, including those who are no longer alive, such as her twin Frankie and her parents.Other characters include the doctor who signed Frankie's death certificate, childhood friends, aunts, and cousins.Not only do the voices tell the personal side of the story, they also tell the history and facts about polio.The combination forms a nicely balanced book.

I applaud Janice for writing this book.It was obviously not easy.But she was able to bring a perspective to the subject that not many people can.Janice knows polio as both a victim and a survivor.When Frankie died, a part of Janice died.Yet, on the other hand, when Janice survived, a part of Frankie survived, and this book is tangible evidence of that."Twin Voices" is about so much more than polio.It is about the unique quality of twindom that Janice writes about so eloquently.Being a twin myself, that is the part about this book that intrigued me.Being educated about polio was an added bonus.

I recommend "Twin Voices" to anyone who wants to read a well-researched book and touching personal look at the polio epidemic.

My voice
The book was recommended to me by a mutual friend of the author.Her information is extensive and enlightening to a polio survivor (my husband).I didn't care for the format, where she used the "voice" of her deceased twin to tell his story from heaven.It was too cute, especially because he wouldn't be that articulate at his young age. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (11)

A memoir to be much admired
This is one of the most thought-provoking books about polio that I have read, and I read a pile of polio books a few years ago while researching a book I was writing. But Shreve's book cuts to the heart of how children afflicted with the dread disease were often isolated from their families, and hospitalized for months and sometimes years, undergoing operation after operation, "stabilizing" joints and "transplanting" muscles. Shreve herself endured some of these surgeries, taking for granted that they would help, although the truth is most of these surgeries were experimental in nature and probably were not all that useful. Shreve does not dwell on that part of her time at FDR's "polio haven" though, choosing instead to remember how she coped, between the ages of eleven and thirteen (1950-52), with being on her own and wrestling with feelings of sexual awakening and homesickness. She chose to be optimistic and useful for the most part, but she also was something of a rebel, gaining a reputation as someone who stirred things up on the sprawling hospital campus. It was during the endless hours of waiting, treatment and healing that she first discovered the pleasure of her own imagination and decided to be a writer. She also considered larger questions - flirting for a time with conversion to Catholicism, partly perhaps she had a crush on the priest who was the chaplain at Warm Springs. Shreve somehow survived her long internment at Warm Springs, and perhaps it even made her a stronger person, although this is a question she still wrestles with, as she continues to speculate on her relationship with her long-gone parents. I stayed up late last night to finish this book. There is much to be learned from Shreve's account of her time at Warm Springs, and not just about polio. For this is a book about growing up, and about finding your place in an often confusing society. Shreve is now a very respected writer and teacher, the author of dozens of books for both adults and children. I admire her tremendously for all these accomplishments, but particularly for finally writing this book. - Tim Bazzett, author of LOVE, WAR & POLIO

Intriguing premise, yet falls flat
In the 1940s and early 1950s, polio epidemics spread across the United States, severely damaging the health -- and overall lives -- of many individuals, mainly children. Susan Richards, who'd been struck by the virus as a baby, was one.

At age eleven, Susan was sent to Warm Springs, a Georgia hospital and research facility where she would live among other polio patients for nearly two years. During this time, she underwent numerous painful operations as doctors struggled to help her walk and overall improve the quality of her life.

In her memoir, Shreve recalls her experiences at Warm Springs -- other children she befriended, the young priest on whom she developed a crush, her feelings of guilt over having "caused so much trouble" for her family.

While her anecdotes are overall frank and promising, the author unfortunately tends to go around in circles without much of a plot. Too many pages to count are consumed by Susan's endless jaunts throughout the hospital grounds, not really culminating in anything in particular. Frequently she sets up an element -- such as her younger brother's issues with the lifelong disruption of his nuclear family -- but fails to take it anywhere. Other times, she abruptly switches from her adolescent self to a voice clearly grown, using phrases referring to her marriage and children. This is both jarring and, again, refers to things that are never actually explained in any significant detail.

Finally, the author relies quite heavily upon the fact that Roosevelt, also a polio victim, had once stayed at Warm Springs and essentially ensured the facility's existence. Readers might appreciate a bit of background about the former president in order to gain more context about the illness and Warm Springs itself, but Shreve uses a significant chunk of her book talking about the life of Roosevelt -- giving the distinct impression of unsuccessfully searching for filler material.

If I wanted a biography of Roosevelt, I would have sought one...

Heartbreakingly Honest
This is a beautiful book, a perfect memoir.Susan Richards was stricken with polio as a baby, and her devoted mother(and father) sent her to Warm Springs, GA to try and help her walk normally again.Certainly not the sickest child at the haven created by FDR, Susan was by far the most spirited.

This is her very honest recollection of her time spent at Warm Springs from age 11 to 12.She details in heartbreaking detail therelationship between herself and her mother, and between herself and the other "characters" at Warm Springs; Father James, Joey Buckley, Caroline Slover, Magnolia, Paisley Jean, Rosie.She also paints a self portrait of a brave yet fearful girl trying to find her way in the world despite her disability.

I have given this book to my 12 year old daughter to read.It is a lovely book that changes the way you see the world.

Life among the Polios
When I was a boy we had this lady come into my creative writing class at school, and she read to us from one of her novels.Many of us fell in love with her at first sight, and especially when she began reading the pages of her book, for her voice as many now know, is low and enchanting, the sort of voice that could launch a thousand ships.She was born a little too early to get into the phone sex business but she could have cleaned up!Now comes the tragic story of her heartwarming travails back in the late 40 and early 50s, when she was one of the "polios," as they called themselves, installed among other children in the long hot hospital they called "Warm Springs."

in little Susan's day, the specter of Franklin Roosevelt, the most famous polio victim, was ever present.His photo was in the office of the main doctor, and the little children toasted to his memory (the President had died only five years before, keeping the extent of his paralysis a top state secret, but among the stricken, he was always eager to share).

She was a difficult child born to a wonderful mother who was a top chef and did everything perfectly.Stuck in Warm Springs, her fantasy life really took off and she was forced to be the roommate of sullen, disapproving Caroline, and also she found herself a little boyfriend called "Joey Buckley," which made living in the enforced conditions of Warm Springs a bit more bearable.Her mother sent her many clippings to read, but only one book, oddly enough it was Shirley Jackson's THE LOTTERY, which Susan didn't read but Caroline did.

She had a strange but understandable passion for Father James, the hospital padre, who could make any girl forget her vows.A charming man, James had what we would call today, "charisma."I enjoyed this book but came to feel that she, Susan, was spinning out tale after tale based on tiny scraps of memory, for no one could remember all that, but embroidery is what the novelist does best: we learned that long ago at Ms. Richards Shreve's knee back in the classroom at school.

Warm Springs
I was anxious to read this book because like the author, I spent a good part of my childhood life in Warm Springs. I truly enjoyed this memoir which brought back memories and feelings of my own childhood. I laughed and cried and relived many of the author's experiences which were very similar to my own. The book is very well written and I have lent it out to friends that have not had any ties to polio, except knowing me. Everyone has enjoyed this light and entertaining reading. ... Read more

Product Description
The number of global polio cases has fallen dramatically and eradication is within sight, but despite extraordinary efforts, polio retains its grip in a few areas. Anthropologist Svea Closser follows the trajectory of the polio eradication effort in Pakistan, one of the last four countries in the world with endemic polio. Journeying from vaccination campaigns in rural Pakistan to the center of global health decision making at the World Health Organization in Geneva, the author explores the historical and cultural underpinnings of eradication as a public health strategy, and reveals the culture of optimism that characterizes--and sometimes cripples--global health institutions.

With a keen ethnographic eye, Closser describes the complex power negotiations that underlie the eradication effort at every level, tracking techniques of resistance employed by district health workers and state governments alike. This book offers an analysis of local politics, social relations, and global political economy in the implementation of a worldwide public health effort, with broad implications for understanding what is possible in global health, now and for the future.

This book is the recipient of the annual Norman L. and Roselea J. Goldberg Prize for the best project in the area of medicine. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Very Good
In today's difficult political and economic environment, this is a concise analysis of the troubles encountered when implementing a medical solution for a complex social health problem.The analysis provides solutions that will help efforts to eradicate polio.

Fascinating Scientific Research
Scientifically sound.Well researched. Well written.A valuable work. Very interesting to read.I think that even people outside the field would benefit from Ms Closser's conclusions and her personal experiences in Pakistan. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (10)

A Different Era
I read this book after glancing over it quickly at the library. Thinking it more a "browsing" book than a "reading" book, I quickly became quite absorbed in the stories being told. It is a chronicle of a different time, when a disease that predominantly struck children left its scar on the victim, her family, and society. Mass "hysteria" (empty neighborhood pools, for example), not altogether unwarranted given the evidence and the times, gripped the world as parents strove to protect their children from the dreaded iron lung. I know one reviewer complained it had too much "nitty gritty," but I have to say that the information was presented in such an accessible manner that I couldn't get enough of it. And, of course, there's a "happy ending," that is, the development of an effective vaccine. As a scientist, it's probably the best "popular" book about a disease and about its societal impact that I've read, and I recommend it highly.

Wow!
This memoir written by the daughter of a woman that had polio and a history of polio is an excellent book. I really felt like I knew the author, her mother and the whole polio experience much better after I read this book.

Excellent Read
Kathryn Black's journey to understand her mother's struggle with polio is well written and poignant--a definite contribution to appreciating the human condition. This book is worth every penny.

Another polio survivor
As a polio survivor myself, I am fascinated by the biographies of others. I am very much reminded of TO CATCH THE SNOWFLAKES, another survivor who did not allow himself to be a victim.

Misleading Info about the book- please read!!
The book was inspirational and taught me a lot about the disease- things I never knew; but when I read the summary for this book, I thought it was going to be a story, not a research paper. Yes, Ms. Black does tell snippets of her mother's story every other chapter, but there is so much nitty gritty info in between- unless you want to know the entire history of the disease, don't buy this book. I did, thinking I would get an in depth view into the life of a family affected by polio, and instead got, for the most part, an essay on the history and effects of polio. Please don't be mislead by the title- it's a good title, but it conveys a personal and intimate sense which is not entirely present in the book itself. I hope my experience with this book helps you in the future. ... Read more

Product Description

In 2008, Northern Nigeria had the greatest number of confirmed cases of polio in the world and was the source of outbreaks in several West African countries. Elisha P. Renne explores the politics and social dynamics of the Northern Nigerian response to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, which has been met with extreme skepticism, subversion, and the refusal of some parents to immunize their children. Renne explains this resistance by situating the eradication effort within the social, political, cultural, and historical context of the experience of polio in Northern Nigeria. Questions of vaccine safety, the ability of the government to provide basic health care, and the role of the international community are factored into this sensitive and complex treatment of the ethics of global polio eradication efforts.

Product Description

Incorporating many rare photographs from the family albums of survivors who tell their stories, Harvard professor Julie Silver, M.D., and historian Daniel Wilson help readers understand the sheer terror that gripped parents of young children every spring and summer during the first half of the 20th century as polio epidemics ran rampant. Interviewed as part of the Polio Oral History Project directed by Silver and funded by Harvard, foundations, and private donors, the people featured in this book describe what is arguably the most feared scourge of modern times. Testimonies are included from people who worked in polio wards, as well as from those involved in worldwide eradication efforts. The book also addresses the emergence of the polio and disability rights movement, the challenges of post-polio syndrome, and the state of polio research and developments today. And it explores the concern that polio could return in an even more vicious form as a result of bioterrorism.

Customer Reviews (1)

A really moving and meticulously researched book
This is a deeply moving and really well researched book that unflinchingly shows the human stories behind the American polio epidemics in the earlier part of he twentieth century. The book is full of human stories, some deeply sad, some highly inspirational, all poignant. It is a book I have found very special: a testament to human courage and, in the end, a chronicle of the wonderful discovery of the polio vaccine that has largely conquered this appalling disease. ... Read more

Product Description
This work is a comprehensive account of the poliomyelitis epidemic. It takes the story from the first major outbreak of "Infantile Paralysis" in New York in 1916 - which induced panic on a scale reminiscent of the great plagues of history - through to its lingering aftermath in the shape of the so-called, and still mysterious Post-Polio Syndrome. This account combines several strands - biographical, political and social - as well as clinical and microbiological. It focuses on those individuals who were influential in the treatment and "conquest" of polio - from the most celebrated polio sufferer of all, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who set up his own hydrotherapy centre at Warm Springs in Georgia - to the scientific rivals, Jonas Salk and Albert Sabin, caught up in the race to produce a viable vaccine. The story also features John Enders, the Nobel prizewinner who made the crucial breakthrough in the laboratory; FDR's lieutenant, Basil O'Connor, whose "March of Dimes" became a byword for successful fund-raising; and Sister Elizabeth Kenny, the nurse from the Australian outback who challenged medical orthodoxy and invented "miracle" cures.In Britain, despite ten years of increasingly severe outbreaks, it took the death from bulbar polio in 1959 of an international footballer, Jeff Hall, to etch the importance of polio prevention on people's minds. The second part of this book examines the experiences of polio survivors on both sides of the Atlantic and concludes with a moving autobiographical account of the disease and resulting disability. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A GRIPPING HISTORY OF POLIO IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY.
From Jack Trombadore Book Reviews New Jersey Polio Network Newsletter,Spring 1996

For anyone who has survived polio, the year,summer, indeed,the day that he or she first had polio will always mark the time of thePlague, "The Crippler," as it was known for many decades, whetherthat time is personally recalled or recounted by family members. In ASummer Plague,Polio And Its Survivors, award-winning author Tony Gould,who had polio at age twenty in 1959, while a junior officer in the Britishmilitary in Hong Kong, gives us a wide-ranging and thoroughly grippinghistory of polio throughout its most destructive period, the twentiethcentury, and the ways in which this country and most of Western Europecoped with this scourge. Gould acknowledges that most of the world'spopulation has not yet received anti-polio vaccine and that much remains tobe learned about post-polio syndrome. In the1970's and into the 1980'sthere was an increasing medical ignorance about polio; "peopletroubled by its after-effects were dismissed by doctors either ashypochondriacs or, worse, neurotics in need of psychiatric treatment."

Polio first appeared in epidemic proportions at the end of thenineteenth century in Scandinavia, with the first major outbreak in theUnited States in 1916 in New York City. During the week of August 5 therewere 1151 reported cases of polio with 301 deaths in the city. Theauthorities and families with young children were overtaken with panic; asmany as 50,000 children of the well-to-do were sent out of the city toplaces considered safe from the epidemic. On the other hand, cities,Hoboken, for example, absolutely forbade all-nonresidents from entering; onJuly 18, 1916, police turned away 150 families trying to enterHastings-on-Hudson. Children from poorer sections of the city werequarantined that year for up to eight weeks regardless of beingasymptomatic. It was later found that wealth, poverty and/or livingconditions were all irrelevant. Many cases went unreported by familiesfearing the quarantine. For some months it was believed that cats and dogswere responsible for the spread of polio, and many thousands were roundedup and destroyed. Nationwide in 1916 there were 27,000 reported cases ofpolio with 6,000 deaths, 2,343 of these in the city.

No account of polioin the United States would be complete without a retelling of the story ofFDR who contracted polio in 1921 and believed for mostof his remainingyears that strenuous exercise, massage, and warm water bathing would curehim and restore his useless legs. The March of Dimes, Warm Springs, Ga,Sister Kenny, Drs.Salk and Sabin, and Basil O'Connor are familiar names,but, nevertheless, Gould provides an insightful and in-depth study of thiscast and of the events shaped by them and others in medicine and in thepolitics and intrigues of medical rivalries. Politics was never absent fromthe constant struggle for money for treatment and rehabilitation andresearch for a preventive vaccine.

The conflicting methods of after-caretreatment including rigid splinting with braces to prevent deformity of theback and limbs, as opposed to massage, exercise, physiotherapy, includinghydrotherapy, engendered furious medical debates. Sister Kenny, who had noformal medical training, was always at the center of the storm advocatingthe abandonment of braces and iron lungs which she called "torturechambers." She did not come to the United States until 1940, and wasrebuffed by the medical profession in spite of her isolated"miracles" on "hopeless" cases with the use of hotpacks to relieve muscle spasm and a regime of exercise for musclere-strengthening and muscle re-coordination. Her battles with Americanorthopedic surgeons never ended, and Gould believes that their attempts todiscredit her arose out of professional jealousy.

The research for apreventive vaccine ended with the fabled successes (and incredible enmity)of Dr.Salk and his "killed" vaccine and of Dr.Sabin with his"live" vaccine.

Gould relates his own personal initialharrowing experiences with polio and those of other survivors in the laterchapters of this memorable, fascinating, no-holds-barred history, includingfirst-person accounts by Dr. Lauro Halstead and by Joan Headley, ExecutiveDirector of GINI, Gazette International Networking Institute.

Mustreading for everyone!

A human interest textbook with empathy and heart.
It needed doing anddone it he has - combine the wish to understand Polio the diseasein detached historical and dispassionate terms but to balance it with empathy and understanding of those who suffered Polio. "Suffered" proves to be the wrong word - "overcame", "conquered" are better. The human stories with which Tony Gould concludes his book inspire the reader.The total is a two part masterpiece - the facts and the reality. A text book with heart, stories with depth. A wonderful and worthwhile way to use the eyes, stretch the mind and lift the heart. ... Read more

Product Description

It was not long ago that scientists proclaimed victory over polio, the dread disease of the 1950s. More recently polio resurfaced, not conquered at all, spreading across the countries of Africa. As we once again face the specter of this disease, along with other killers like AIDS and SARS, this powerful book reminds us of the personal cost, the cultural implications, and the historical significance of one of modern humanity's deadliest biological enemies. In Polio and Its Aftermath Marc Shell, himself a victim of polio, offers an inspired analysis of the disease. Part memoir, part cultural criticism and history, part meditation on the meaning of disease, Shell's work combines the understanding of a medical researcher with the sensitivity of a literary critic. He deftly draws a detailed yet broad picture of the lived experience of a crippling disease as it makes it way into every facet of human existence.

Polio and Its Aftermath conveys the widespread panic that struck as the disease swept the world in the mid-fifties. It captures an atmosphere in which polio vied with the Cold War as the greatest cause of unrest in North America--and in which a strange and often debilitating uncertainty was one of the disease's salient but least treatable symptoms. Polio particularly afflicted the young, and Shell explores what this meant to families and communities. And he reveals why, in spite of the worldwide relief that greeted Jonas Salk's vaccine as a miracle of modern science, we have much more to fear from polio now than we know.

Customer Reviews (2)

Interesting book on Polio history
This is a well written and interesting book about polio both from a historical view and as a personal account. I recommend it highly.

A cultural history and survey of the meaning of polio in society
There was a time when fear of polio held America in its grip, much as the public fears terrorism today: though in recent decades polio has been all but eliminated, readers may be surprised to learn it's not only resurfaced but spread in various African nations, and is still with us even while the society-wide fear is gone. Professor Marc Shell is concerned about this collective amnesia: his Polio And Its Aftermath: The Paralysis Of Culture focuses not on the climax but the aftermath of the polio trauma. Polio And Its Aftermath comes from personal experience as well: Shell himself contracted polio in 1953 at the age of six, making this part memoir as well as a cultural history and survey of the meaning of polio in society.
... Read more

Product Description
Based on thousands of hours of research, this companion book to the PBS documentary of the same name tells the story of the polio epidemic in America. 100 photos. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Polio and it's epidemics explained.
This book accompanied the PBS special of the same name. It did an excellent job of explaining the causes of the growing polio epidemics in the first half of the twentieth century. To think that public sanitation, which ended other deadly diseases, had a role in the increase of polio cases. It's a must read for anyone who remembers this scourge, or any historian.

A Fascinating look at America's Polio experience.
This book contains a series of interviews with individuals who have either been involved in the treatment, cure, or suffering of polio.The accounts give captivating first hand insight into the horror of contracting polio,the experience of the disease progressing, the Iron Lung experience, andthe therapies available at that time.Interviews with those who workedwith Dr Salk, as well as his wife, are included as well.

The numerousblack and white photographs paint a vivid image of the experience.

Whilethis book is not intended to be a complete history of polio, it is anexcellent book for those who wish to know how the polio epidemics felt, aswell as the pride in the conquest of polio through the March of Dimes.

This book would be a good addition for a high school or junior highschool library as well. ... Read more

Product Description

This new title in the Biographies of Disease series offers a thorough examination of medical and scientific efforts to battle polio, from the 19th-century identification of the virus to the great 20th-century epidemics, from the unprecedented campaign to find a vaccine to recent efforts to confront polio in West Africa and South Asia and eliminate it entirely.

Beyond the science, Polio looks at the effects of the disease on individuals and the United States as a whole. The book gives readers a sense of what it was like to have polio and to recover from it. It also describes how the search for answers to polio led to the rise of one of America's premier medical charities—the March of Dimes—and how modern physical therapy practices emerged alongside the polio epidemics of the 20th century.