The Secret History of Thalidomide in America and Its Hidden Victims
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Published Jun 2023
432 pages
Genre: Science, Health and the Environment
Publication Information
A riveting account of the most notorious drug of the twentieth century and the never-before-told story of its American survivors
In 1959, a Cincinnati pharmaceutical firm, the William S. Merrell Company, quietly began distributing samples of an exciting new wonder drug already popular around the world. Touted as a sedative without risks, thalidomide was handed out freely, under the guise of clinical trials, by doctors who believed approval by the Food and Drug Administration was imminent.
But in 1960, when the application for thalidomide landed on the desk of FDA medical reviewer Frances Kelsey, she quickly grew suspicious. When she learned that the drug was causing severe birth abnormalities abroad, she and a team of dedicated doctors, parents, and journalists fought tirelessly to block its authorization in the United States and stop its sale around the world.
Jennifer Vanderbes set out to write about this FDA success story only to discover a sinister truth that had been buried for decades: For more than five years, several American pharmaceutical firms had distributed unmarked thalidomide samples in shoddy clinical trials, reaching tens of thousands of unwitting patients, including hundreds of pregnant women.
As Vanderbes examined government and corporate archives, probed court records, and interviewed hundreds of key players, she unearthed an even more stunning find: Scores of Americans had likely been harmed by the drug. Deceived by the pharmaceutical firms, betrayed by doctors, and ignored by the government, most of these Americans had spent their lives unaware that thalidomide had caused their birth defects.
Now, for the first time, this shocking episode in American history is brought to light. Wonder Drug gives voice to the unrecognized victims of this epic scandal and exposes the deceptive practices of Big Pharma that continue to endanger lives today.
"A deeply researched and chilling must-read. Journalist and novelist Vanderbes profiles one of the most notorious drugs in history: thalidomide." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"This is a medical must read. Show, don't tell journalism at its best. [Vanderbes] mines archives and interviews 283 victims, scientists, lawyers, doctors, and journalists to figure out how the premature distribution of a horrifyingly understudied drug led to tens of thousands of babies born with "flipper-like 'seal limbs.'" The short answer: Blame corporate greed, shoddy research, and regulatory failures." —Booklist (starred review)
"Riveting. Suspenseful. A significant work about a horrifying example of widespread pharmaceutical negligence." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Wonder Drug is both a first-rate medical thriller and the searing account of a forgotten American tragedy. Drawing on six years of groundbreaking research and guided by a keen eye for the indelible detail and an unwavering moral conviction, Jennifer Vanderbes has produced a shocking saga of pharmaceutical malpractice." —Patrick Radden Keefe, New York Times bestselling author of Empire of Pain
"Wonder Drug is a tale of scientific detective work, corporate corruption on a grand scale, and human resilience in the face of repudiation and tragedy. This is narrative nonfiction at its most compelling." —Margot Lee Shetterly, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Hidden Figures
"Vanderbes's thorough investigative work and her lucid prose bring to life a little-known American tragedy. Wonder Drug is a compelling read and reminds us why regulatory scrutiny of new drugs matters." —Abraham Verghese, New York Times bestselling author of Cutting for Stone
This information about Wonder Drug was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Jennifer Vanderbes is the author of the novels The Secret of Raven Point, Easter Island, and Strangers at the Feast, and is the recipient of numerous awards, including a Guggenheim Fellowship and a New York Public Library Cullman Fellowship. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and Granta and has been translated into sixteen languages. She lives in New York City.
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