Vaccine - 9781421406077

The strength in this book on the childhood-vaccination debate by a history professor specializing in science and public policy is that the author is neither "pro-vaccination" nor "anti-vaccination;" he is interested in why large numbers of parents in the U.S. believe that childhood vaccines cause autism and refuse to vaccinate their children, in spite of total medical and scientific consensus that vaccination is vital and does not cause autism. He points out the autism debate masks underlying concerns people have about science, medicine, and social control, and marks a breakdown of communication and trust between doctors and the public. In spite of the author's goal of discovering what people are really concerned about, he does not interview parents or cite data from group studies. So the book ends as a compendium of the author's personal opinions on the subject. Many of these are compelling but cry out for expansion (a paragraph about the way financial pressures on doctors affect how they give vaccines, for instance). The prose is engaging, but the book lacks a journalist's focus, a memoirist's experience, or a researcher's data. The author's unsurprising conclusion is that parents should take responsibility for deciding what is best for their kids. Though it is of limited value for people who accept vaccination, the book will be valuable for vaccination-anxious parents who distrust doctors but seek scientifically accurate information from a source sympathetic to their concerns. Annotation ©2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)