Polio: An American Story

Summary

Oshinsky tells the story of the polio epidemics that terrified twentieth century America and the race to find a vaccine. He follows the rivalry between Jonas Salk and Albert Sabin, the fundraising power of the March of Dimes, and the public fear that drove the search for a cure. The book matters as a portrait of how science, money, and mass anxiety combined to defeat a dreaded disease.