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Autism's False Prophets: Bad Science, Risky Medicine, and the Search for a Cure Contributor(s): Offit, Paul (Author) |
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ISBN: 0231146361 ISBN-13: 9780231146364 Publisher: Columbia University Press
WE WILL NOT BE UNDERSOLD! Click here for our low price guarantee Binding Type: Hardcover - See All Available Formats & Editions Published: September 2008 |
Additional Information |
BISAC Categories: - Psychology | Psychopathology - Autism Spectrum Disorders - Medical | Pediatrics - Health & Fitness | Health Care Issues |
Dewey: 618.928 |
LCCN: 2008015832 |
Age Level: 22-UP |
Grade Level: 17-UP |
Physical Information: 1.1" H x 6.1" W x 9" L (1.30 lbs) 328 pages |
Features: Bibliography, Dust Cover, Illustrated, Index, Price on Product, Recycled Paper, Table of Contents |
Review Citations: Library Journal 08/15/2008 pg. 107 Newsweek 11/03/2008 pg. 62 Science 12/12/2008 pg. 1635 Choice 03/01/2009 |
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
Publisher Description: A London researcher was the first to assert that the combination measles-mumps-rubella vaccine known as MMR caused autism in children. Following this "discovery," a handful of parents declared that a mercury-containing preservative in several vaccines was responsible for the disease. If mercury caused autism, they reasoned, eliminating it from a child's system should treat the disorder. Consequently, a number of untested alternative therapies arose, and, most tragically, in one such treatment, a doctor injected a five-year-old autistic boy with a chemical in an effort to cleanse him of mercury, which stopped his heart instead. Children with autism have been placed on stringent diets, subjected to high-temperature saunas, bathed in magnetic clay, asked to swallow digestive enzymes and activated charcoal, and injected with various combinations of vitamins, minerals, and acids. Instead of helping, these therapies can hurt those who are most vulnerable, and particularly in the case of autism, they undermine childhood vaccination programs that have saved millions of lives. An overwhelming body of scientific evidence clearly shows that childhood vaccines are safe and does not cause autism. Yet widespread fear of vaccines on the part of parents persists. In this book, Paul A. Offit, a national expert on vaccines, challenges the modern-day false prophets who have so egregiously misled the public and exposes the opportunism of the lawyers, journalists, celebrities, and politicians who support them. Offit recounts the history of autism research and the exploitation of this tragic condition by advocates and zealots. He considers the manipulation of science in the popular media and the courtroom, and he explores why society is susceptible to the bad science and risky therapies put forward by many antivaccination activists. |
Contributor Bio(s): Offit, Paul: - Paul Offit is Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. He holds a BS in Psychology from Tufts University (1973) and an MD from University of Maryland School of Medicine (1977). He is the author of Autism's False Prophets (CUP 2008) and, most recently, Pandora's Lab (Nat Geo 2017). |
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