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Splendid Solution: Jonas Salk and the Conquest of Polio Audiobook
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(4.01) - 196 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
The riveting story of one of the greatest scientific accomplishments of the twentieth century, from the coauthor of the #1 New York Times bestseller Apollo 13.
With rivalries, reversals, and a race against time, the struggle to eradicate polio is one of the great tales of modern history. It begins with the birth of Jonas Salk, shortly before one of the worst polio epidemics in United States history. At the time, the disease was a terrifying enigma: striking from out of nowhere, it afflicted tens of thousands of children in this country each year and left them-literally overnight-paralyzed, and sometimes at death's door.
Salk was in medical school just as a president crippled by the disease, Franklin D. Roosevelt, was taking office-and providing the impetus to the drive for studies on polio. By the early 1950s, Salk had already helped create an influenza vaccine, and was hot on the trail of the polio virus. He was nearly thwarted, though, by the politics of medicine and by a rival researcher eager to discredit his proposed solution. Meanwhile, in 1952, polio was spreading in record numbers, with 57,000 cases in the United States that summer alone.
In early 1954, Salk was weighing the possibility of trials of a not-yet-perfected vaccine against-as the summer approached-the prospect of thousands more children being struck down by the disease. The results of the history-making trials were announced at a press conference on April 12, 1955: "The vaccine works." The room-and an entire nation-erupted in cheers for this singular medical achievement.
Salk became a cultural hero and icon for a whole generation. Now, at the fiftieth anniversary of the first national vaccination program-and as humanity is tantalizingly close to eradicating polio worldwide-comes this unforgettable chronicle. Salk's work was an unparalleled achievement-and it makes for a magnificent read.
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"This was one of the books from our book club. Was a little hard to get into, but I was able to gain a lot of history and information about the polio vaccine and the politics that were involved with creation of the vaccine. I enjoyed a lot of the historical facts and pictures."
— Deb (4 out of 5 stars)
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“Kluger is best when describing science as a team enterprise, and this account offers a keen understanding of the vast machine of people and resources mobilized to combat polio. The book is well researched and accessible, made all the more tense and gripping by the author’s depiction of the pre-vaccine world; by describing what it was like to live in fear of polio, Kluger reminds us how joyous and heroic an event its conquest was.”
— Publishers Weekly -
“A mighty medical event occurred half a century ago, when the curse of polio—of youthful paralysis and suffocating death—was conquered. It was then that the vaccine developed by Dr. Salk was pronounced safe and effective and mass inoculations began…in this unabashedly laudatory history, the story of the achievement is a terrific one. Scientific triumph by a medical hero, described with admiration and lucidity.”
— Kirkus Reviews
Splendid Solution Listener Reviews
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" This was one of the best books I've read in a long time. "
— Katie, 2/15/2014 -
" An interesting account of the development of the polio vaccine by Jonas Salk & his colleagues. "
— Marvin, 2/12/2014 -
" This book was both educational and interesting. I was fascinated by the struggles to find a vacine for polio, also all the politics involved. "
— Nancy, 2/9/2014 -
" Great story about how "soft" human factors can interfere with hard science, even when the motivation is to save children from paralysis. Great read so far. "
— Jeff, 2/5/2014 -
" Seems like a boring subject, but it wasn't at all. This is the story of Jonas Salk and his quest to find a polio vaccine. I was prompted to read this after seeing a play about Jonas Salk and hearing a review of the book on TV. Good choice. "
— Roberta, 2/5/2014 -
" Another great read in the summer of disease history. There is a good deal of time spent on the dragging days and months spent in the lab waiting on results or having to re-start experiments. Maybe the author intended for the reader to experience it... "
— misn0mer, 1/16/2014 -
" Fascinating history about the search for and successful development of a vaccine to protect against Infantile Paralysis - Polio. This is a terrific historical read. "
— Sandy, 1/10/2014 -
" This read like a thriller - couldn't put it down. "
— Wilma, 1/10/2014 -
" Another book on how disease is fought by man. So interesting to me... this inspired me to talk to my grandparents about polio since they definitely lived through all of this. I love the imagination that goes along with science. "
— Corrie, 1/9/2014 -
" This book details the life of Jonas Salk, his rise as a scientist, and the race to find a cure for polio. Read this for book club. "
— Deb, 1/5/2014 -
" Interesting story! This is probably more than I ever wanted to know about the polio vaccine, but I enjoyed the book. "
— Becca, 12/7/2013 -
" Just finished...gosh it was good...It's interesting and dramatic and inspiring. Just how that one vaccine changed the experience of every mother. "
— Jen, 8/22/2013 -
" Excellent book about the Jonas Salk and his discovery of Polio. It is written for the lay reader and not the scientific community "
— Marc, 8/18/2013 -
" Ok, so I know a book about the polio vaccine doesn't sounds super interesting, but really was! Not only was it educational but it was a page turner. "
— Faith, 7/5/2013 -
" A must read for any one who lived during the last polio epidemic or knows someone with polio. "
— Barb, 4/16/2012 -
" I knew knew it was so political!! "
— Jennifer, 11/7/2011 -
" Whoever would have thought that the race to develop a polio vaccine would have been so fascinating? Kluger tells a fast-paced and extremely interesting story, which makes me glad I was born just after the Salk vaccine was developed! "
— Kathleen, 10/4/2011 -
" I've been trying to read more non-fiction, and I found this book really enjoyable - its about the invention of the polio vaccine and the events surrounding its invention and inception. I'd recommend it! "
— Sherri, 9/14/2011 -
" Very interesting and very easy to get sucked into. Great story. "
— Beth, 8/1/2011 -
" This book details the life of Jonas Salk, his rise as a scientist, and the race to find a cure for polio. Read this for book club. "
— Deb, 3/19/2011 -
" This was one of the best books I've read in a long time. "
— Katie, 1/26/2011 -
" Another great read in the summer of disease history. There is a good deal of time spent on the dragging days and months spent in the lab waiting on results or having to re-start experiments. Maybe the author intended for the reader to experience it... "
— misn0mer, 12/7/2010 -
" Great story about how "soft" human factors can interfere with hard science, even when the motivation is to save children from paralysis. Great read so far. "
— Jeff, 7/5/2009 -
" This book was both educational and interesting. I was fascinated by the struggles to find a vacine for polio, also all the politics involved. "
— Nancy, 4/14/2009 -
" Ok, so I know a book about the polio vaccine doesn't sounds super interesting, but really was! Not only was it educational but it was a page turner. "
— Faith, 1/21/2009 -
" Fascinating history about the search for and successful development of a vaccine to protect against Infantile Paralysis - Polio. This is a terrific historical read. "
— Sandy, 11/9/2008
About Jeffrey Kluger
Jeffrey Kluger is a senior editor and writer for Time magazine. With astronaut Jim Lovell, he wrote Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13, on which the 1995 movie Apollo 13 was based. His other books include the critically acclaimed Splendid Solution: Jonas Salk and the Conquest of Polio. Kluger lives in New York City with his wife and daughters.
About Michael Prichard
Michael Prichard is a Los Angeles-based actor who has played several thousand characters during his career, over one hundred of them in theater and film. He is primarily heard as an audiobook narrator, having recorded well over five hundred full-length books. His numerous awards and accolades include an Audie Award for Tears in the Darkness by Michael Norman and Elizabeth M. Norman and six AudioFile Earphones Awards. He was named a Top Ten Golden Voice by SmartMoney magazine. He holds an MFA in theater from the University of Southern California.