THE VACCINE RACE Science, Politics, and the Human Costs of Defeating Disease in Postwar America

Author Meredith Wadman shows listeners that science was once a fascinating, twisty search for the truth conducted by committed researchers who operated in financial and ethical environments different from those of today. Narrator Nancy Linari has a lovely smooth voice, and she subtly renders the rivalries, professional slights, and outrageous ethical decisions embedded in the story. Millions of Americans have been protected from rubella, polio, rabies, mumps, and other diseases, thanks to vaccines developed from the cells of a single fetus. Desperate to determine the safety and effectiveness of vaccines, scientists used prisoners, children institutionalized for intellectual disabilities, orphans, and others for testing. While Linari's voice is beautiful, her timing, pauses, and emphases are not effective in holding the listener's attention--a shame for such an important work. A.B. © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine [Published: OCTOBER 2017]