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Wonder Drug
- The Secret History of Thalidomide in America and Its Hidden Victims
- Narrated by: Jennifer Vanderbes
- Length: 10 hrs and 10 mins
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Publisher's summary
“A shocking saga of pharmaceutical malpractice . . . Wonder Drug is both a first-rate medical thriller and the searing account of a forgotten American tragedy.”—Patrick Radden Keefe, author of Empire of Pain
A “fascinating and compassionate” (People) account of the most notorious drug of the twentieth century and the never-before-told story of its American survivors.
Longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal
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.
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Critic reviews
“A story with real heroes—and real villains. Wonder Drug will leave you grateful for strong-minded scientists and epidemiology nerds—people who actually take the time to look at the data—and for dedicated pediatricians, parents who won’t take no for an answer and curious, persistent, investigative journalists like Vanderbes who can follow even long-buried and carefully hidden stories that need to be told.”—The Washington Post
“What really took place in the U.S. in the early 1960s was much more harrowing than we remember, as Jennifer Vanderbes makes clear in her riveting new book . . . Vanderbes tells her story with verve, power, and empathy, adding weight by interpolating the stories of victims throughout, and coming back to them at length toward the book’s conclusion.”—Harvard Public Health Magazine
“Jennifer Vanderbes’s deft and thorough Wonder Drug maps the thalidomide tragedy. The action shifts from one country to the next in the manner of a John le Carré thriller. Coming hot on the heels of a documentary, it is hoped the U.S. government will own up to its errors and ensure recognition and adequate support for the survivors—the group estimate they number around 100—whose bodies were literally test beds for modern drug safety.”—The Globe and Mail
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This comprehensive and gripping narrative, which received the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for history, covers all the challenges, characters, and controversies in America's relentless struggle against polio. Funded by philanthropy and grassroots contributions, Salk's killed-virus vaccine (1954) and Sabin's live-virus vaccine (1961) began to eradicate this dreaded disease.
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Wonderful
- By Patricia B Tripoli on 07-22-08
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The Problem of Alzheimer's
- How Science, Culture, and Politics Turned a Rare Disease into a Crisis and What We Can Do About It
- By: Jason Karlawish
- Narrated by: Jason Karlawish, Jonathan Todd Ross
- Length: 13 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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In 2020, an estimated 5.8 million Americans had Alzheimer’s, and more than half a million died because of the disease and its devastating complications. Sixteen million caregivers are responsible for paying as much as half of the $226 billion annual costs of their care. As more people live beyond their 70s and 80s, the number of patients will rise to an estimated 13.8 million by 2025. Part case studies, part meditation on the past, present and future of the disease, The Problem of Alzheimer's traces Alzheimer’s from its beginnings to its recognition as a crisis.
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A must read
- By kara kuntz on 05-20-21
By: Jason Karlawish
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Mengele
- Unmasking the "Angel of Death"
- By: David G. Marwell
- Narrated by: Paul Woodson
- Length: 11 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Mengele describes the international search for the Nazi doctor in 1985 that ended in a cemetery in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and the dogged forensic investigation that produced overwhelming evidence that Mengele had died - but failed to convince those who, arguably, most wanted him dead. This is the riveting story of science without limits, escape without freedom, and resolution without justice.
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A Good Lesson in Historical Investigative Techniques
- By PCMusicGadgetMan on 06-30-20
By: David G. Marwell
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The Queen
- The Forgotten Life Behind an American Myth
- By: Josh Levin
- Narrated by: January LaVoy
- Length: 12 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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In this critically acclaimed true crime tale of "welfare queen" Linda Taylor, a Slate editor reveals a "wild, only-in-America story" of political manipulation and murder (Attica Locke, Edgar Award-winning author). Part social history, part true-crime investigation, Josh Levin's mesmerizing book, the product of six years of reporting and research, is a fascinating account of American racism, and an exposé of the "welfare queen" myth, one that fueled political debates that reverberate to this day.
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Very compelling story!
- By Marilyn on 06-24-19
By: Josh Levin
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Splendid Solution
- Jonas Salk and the Conquest of Polio
- By: Jeffrey Kluger
- Narrated by: Michael Prichard
- Length: 13 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Salk became a cultural hero and icon for a whole generation. Now, at the fiftieth anniversary of the first national vaccination program, and as humanity is tantalizingly close to eradicating polio worldwide, comes this unforgettable chronicle. Salk's work was an unparalleled achievement, and it makes for a magnificent listen.
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Excellent book
- By Tim on 08-10-06
By: Jeffrey Kluger
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Charlatan
- America's Most Dangerous Huckster, the Man Who Pursued Him and the Age of Flimflam
- By: Pope Brock
- Narrated by: Johnny Heller
- Length: 8 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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This is the enormously entertaining story of how a fraudulent surgeon made a fortune by inserting goats' testes into impotent American men. "Doctor" John Brinkley became a world renowned authority on sexual rejuvenation in the 1920s, with famous politicians and even royalty asking for his services.
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nix the narrator
- By susan nenadic on 02-08-09
By: Pope Brock
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Bellevue
- Three Centuries of Medicine and Mayhem at America's Most Storied Hospital
- By: David Oshinsky
- Narrated by: Fred Sanders
- Length: 14 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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David Oshinsky, whose last book, Polio: An American Story, was awarded a Pulitzer Prize, chronicles the history of America's oldest hospital and in so doing also charts the rise of New York to the nation's preeminent city, the path of American medicine from butchery and quackery to a professional and scientific endeavor, and the growth of a civic institution.
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Fascinating
- By Jean on 12-14-16
By: David Oshinsky
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American Overdose
- The Opioid Tragedy in Three Acts
- By: Chris McGreal
- Narrated by: Dan Woren
- Length: 11 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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The opioid epidemic has been described as "one of the greatest mistakes of modern medicine." But calling it a mistake is a generous rewriting of the history of greed, corruption, and indifference that pushed the US into consuming more than 80 percent of the world's opioid painkillers. Journeying through lives and communities wrecked by the epidemic, Chris McGreal reveals not only how Big Pharma hooked Americans on powerfully addictive drugs but the corrupting of medicine and public institutions that let the opioid makers get away with it.
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An important read
- By Macmom4 on 02-18-19
By: Chris McGreal
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How to Survive a Plague
- The Inside Story of How Citizens and Science Tamed AIDS
- By: David France
- Narrated by: Rory O'Malley
- Length: 24 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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A riveting, powerful telling of the story of the grassroots movement of activists, many of them in a life-or-death struggle, who seized upon scientific research to help develop the drugs that turned HIV from a mostly fatal infection to a manageable disease. Ignored by public officials, religious leaders, and the nation at large, and confronted with shame and hatred, this small group of men and women chose to fight for their right to live by educating themselves and demanding to become full partners in the race for effective treatments.
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Read This Book!
- By Kay M Hawklee on 05-30-17
By: David France
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Mengele
- The Complete Story
- By: Gerald Posner, John Ware, Michael Berenbaum - introduction
- Narrated by: Bruce Mann
- Length: 15 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Based on exclusive and unrestricted access to more than 5,000 pages of personal writings and family photos, this definitive biography of German physician and SS-Hauptsturmfuhrer Josef Mengele (1911-1979) probes the personality and motivations of Auschwitz's "Angel of Death". From May 1943 through January 1945, Mengele selected who would be gassed immediately, who would be worked to death, and who would serve as involuntary guinea pigs for his spurious and ghastly human experiments (twins were Mengele's particular obsession).
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ONE OF THE WORST BOOKS I HAVE EVER READ
- By PAUL on 08-02-20
By: Gerald Posner, and others
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The Family Roe
- An American Story
- By: Joshua Prager
- Narrated by: Elisabeth Rodgers
- Length: 18 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Despite her famous pseudonym, no one knows the truth about “Jane Roe”, Norma McCorvey (1947-2017), whose unwanted pregnancy in 1970 opened a great fracture in American life. Journalist Joshua Prager spent years with Norma, discovered her personal papers, a previously unseen trove, and witnessed her final moments. With an explosive revelation at the core of the case, he tells her full story for the first time.
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Just wow.
- By Schmulie on 05-15-22
By: Joshua Prager
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The Demon Under The Microscope
- By: Thomas Hager
- Narrated by: Stephen Hoye
- Length: 12 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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The Nazis discovered it. The Allies won the war with it. It conquered diseases, changed laws, and single-handedly launched the era of antibiotics. This incredible discovery was sulfa, the first antibiotic medication. In The Demon Under the Microscope, Thomas Hager chronicles the dramatic history of the drug that shaped modern medicine.
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Great Book!!!!!
- By Amazon Customer on 05-21-08
By: Thomas Hager
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Teeth
- The Story of Beauty, Inequality, and the Struggle for Oral Health in America
- By: Mary Otto
- Narrated by: Suehyla El'Attar
- Length: 9 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Teeth takes listeners on a disturbing journey into America's silent epidemic of oral disease, exposing the hidden connections between tooth decay and stunted job prospects, low educational achievement, social mobility, and the troubling state of our public health.
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Content everyone should know; dismal narration
- By Elaine on 08-04-17
By: Mary Otto
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Plague of Corruption
- Restoring Faith in the Promise of Science
- By: Dr. Judy Mikovits, Kent Heckenlively, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
- Narrated by: Mariel Hemingway
- Length: 10 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Dr. Judy Mikovits is a modern-day Rosalind Franklin, a brilliant researcher shaking up the old boys' club of science with her groundbreaking discoveries. And like many women who have trespassed into the world of men, she uncovered decades-old secrets that many would prefer to stay buried.
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If only most of the public knew these facts
- By David Getoff, CCN on 06-18-20
By: Dr. Judy Mikovits, and others
What listeners say about Wonder Drug
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Nigel G.
- 07-17-23
Could not stop listening. Except to wipe away tears.
As the older brother of one of the Thalidomide survivors mention in the book, I listened to this gripping and thoroughly researched book with a mixture of tears and initial disbelief that often transformed into anger. If you think hardly any were affected by Thalidomide in the US, you are wrong. If you think the pharmaceutical company practices that led to this tragedy were stopped in the last century, you are wrong. If you think that all survivors have been supported, acknowledged and compensated for those practices, you are wrong.
This author reveals and documents truths that the FDA to this day will not publicly admit. It also paints a set of deeply personal portraits of these amazing people who have been ignored and erased from history for far too long. This book is an illuminating and gripping read. It has been the one book this summer I rarely put down. Except to wipe away tears.
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- Dee Kay
- 01-30-24
Extremely thought provoking!
Astounding research presented in true stories - makes you wonder what truly goes on with big pharmaceutical even today!
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- DBDunston
- 07-08-23
well worth the time
This book is a winner on all fronts. Compelling story, not well known; an easy-to-listen-to narration; and an easy to follow story line.
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- Carolyn
- 07-04-23
A gripping true story of a fight against evil
It took nearly 60 years for a gifted investigative journalist to finish the work Frances Kelsey started in 1961. Powerful executives and government leaders buried their roles in this International tragedy until Jennifer Vanderbes came along and exposed them all. Read it, share it, vow to do your part to never let anything like this happen again.
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- Lola la Femme
- 01-02-24
Great Unknown Story
It’s not a well known story and the issues still apply today.
Needed a different narrator, though. She sometimes (often) falls into a sing-song cadence and makes it hard to focus on what she’s saying.
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- Jennifer
- 07-24-23
A Must!
This was a compelling and enthralling listen! The story, composition, and delivery made this a ‘can’t stop listening’ for me. The U.S. survivors need to be recognized - I hope this book pushes this forward!
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2 people found this helpful
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- Sarah Curtright
- 07-12-23
Author too attached
When she gets excited while reading bc she takes too fast; different narrator would have been less distracting
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1 person found this helpful