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 charisma to 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 community army 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 established its 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.
