The Panic Virus

The better the vaccine, the more abstract the disease it targets becomes.

In retrospect, it's gotten worse.

SOAP BOX ALERT !! While reading this book I'd get so angry I couldn't sleep and I'd have to put it down for a while. It was so hard to hear about how desperate people are to make sense of things and in the process they grasp at anything to explain their struggles. I would get so angry at the profit that some individuals make from half-baked science and take advantage of the desperate. I'm so glad I read this book and I wish I could get everyone to read it and make choice based on understanding rather than fear.

This isn't quite as impressive as it looks, the last hundred pages are all citing sources. I don't know why he bothered, anti-vaccers don't care about sources anyway, but it's a nice thought.

The book traces the rise of the anti vaccine movement from start to ... well, sort of finish. I wish it had been broader but I understand why he chose to focus on individuals. Much more compelling. A good read that I'm glad I finished - there were times when I couldn't put it down - but that I somehow wish had just been more.