Deadly Choices: How the Anti-Vaccine Movement Threatens Us All

From Publishers Weekly Starred Review. In the second book this season (after journalist Seth Mnookin's The Panic Virus) to attack vaccine paranoia, Offit—who drew antivaccinist fire for Autism's False Prophets—presents a smart, hard-hitting exposé of vaccine pseudoscience. Offit brings outstanding credentials to the subject: he's a vaccinologist at Children's Hospital in Philadelphia and an expert in infectious diseases, and he tackles claims that childhood inoculations cause brain damage, autism, diabetes, and cancer, finding a farrago of misinformation, faulty research, and sly deceptions fed to distraught parents by media hype, ax-grinding activists, and personal-injury lawyers. He embellishes his account with a sprightly history of paranoid medical populism—19th-century critics of the cowpox-derived smallpox vaccine insisted it could turn people into cows—and a blistering attack on celebrity antivaccine ideologues Jenny McCarthy, Jim Carrey, and Bill Maher and the medical writers who pander to parental anxieties. Offit dwells less than Mnookin on the sociology of the controversy and more on the science. The result is a thorough dismantling of antivaccine notions and a sober warning about the resurgence of deadly childhood infections stemming from declining vaccination rates. Worried parents, especially, will find this a lucid, compelling riposte to antivaccine fear-mongering. Photos. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved. From Starred Review Infectious disease expert Offit, long an outspoken and prolific (Vaccinated, 2007) champion of universal immunization via vaccines, ratchets up the urgency of his crusade by taking on the loudest and highest-profile spokespersons for the anti-vaccine movement. He spares no one, not Jim Carrey, not Jenny McCarthy, television’s Dr. Oz, or even Dr. Bob Sears, as he tosses salvo after salvo of scientific evidence across the bow of their anti-vaccine ships. Their anti-vaccine arguments, he says, consist of nothing more than anecdotal drama combined with conspiracy theories that pander to parents’ most emotional fears. What they should be doing, he says, is encouraging parents to trust the huge bank of scientific data proving the safety of vaccines and their efficacy in eliminating many deadly infectious diseases. Armed with his own arsenal of anecdotal horror stories that focus on worst case histories of the unvaccinated, mostly children, in addition to pages of scientific study citations supporting his premise, Offit pulls no punches. His tone is edgier than usual this time, his arguments more virulent. It is clear that he wants his message and the facts, not rumors or infectious diseases, to go viral. --Donna Chavez Duct Tape: Dream designer material or simple adhesive used for binding purposes? Thanks to Stick It!, duct tape will become a valuable commodity in your house now that it can be coaxed into wacked-out wallets, wild wearables, punked-out paper goods, and funky jewelry that will bedazzle any outfit fit for all occasions! This invaluable guide#x97;complete with folders and step-by-step directions#x97;will lead you through 99 different craft projects so you’ll become your own #x91;DT’ aficionado. Each project is leveled from: #x93;Dude, my five-year-old sister could do that” to #x93;Don’t even think about operating heavy machinery.” Told in an accessible #x93;teen-speak” language hip tapesters will love, and reminiscent of Stitch #x91;N Bitch and The Big Bad-Ass Book of Crafts, this book is appropriate for the new generation of cool and funky hand made craftsters. Read, unroll, and express your rockin’ self through.. Let Your Rockin' Self Unroll! From whacked-out wallets to wild wearables (and more!), go from sticky to stylin' with these super-hip duct tape projects. Updated with lots of new ideas and colorful tapes to inspire, you can add extra pizzazz to your room and wicked creativity to your life! From Whacked-out Wallets To Wild Wearables (and More!), Go From Sticky To Stylin' With These Super-hip Duct Tape Projects. Updated With Lots Of New Ideas And Colorful Tapes To Inspire, You Can Add Extra Pizzazz To Your Room And Wicked Creativity To Your Life!--back Cover.