The Moth in the Iron Lung: A Biography of Polio

My Mom and her little sister were victims of polio in the late 40's. Her little sister was horribly crippled and ended up in an iron lung, and mercifully perhaps only survived a few years.This account of medical history at that time, as well as the insane use of arsenic and DDT is just horrific, really. Early medicine is the stuff of nightmares. I was curious to find out more about the disease that affected my Mom's life so much. She had periods of grief over her little sister off and on throughout her life.I'm glad I came across this book, however, because it is so enlightening. Well written, compelling - I could go on. I couldn't put it down.

Fantastic, well-edited, informative, book.

This is a fascinating book.

Very well written book. It is Eye Opening. I purchased it because of a recommendation by Dr Bret Weinstein in a podcast I listened to. I was not disappointed.

Absolutely mind blowing. Well written. Keeps your attention. Lots of new information that I was not aware of before.

Such a fascinating read! It was hard to put down! Very short chapters and very easy to follow. The author focuses on the history of polio without weighing it down with too much scientific jargon or personal opinions. I highly recommend this book for anyone who is interested in history or health topics.

An excellent analysis. Could use more footnotes, charts, and specific dates or other details to be fully convincing…this is a story that deserves a detailed analytical review

Having lived through the 1950's polio epidemic and knowing the kids that either died or were crippled by this affliction and now learn there may be a link to the pesticides and medicines that were in common usefrom approx.1870 - 1970. That exposure to those pesticides and medicines can produce symptoms that mimic polio was surprising. This is a logical, well written analysis and well worth your time to read.

I recommend this book as it is eyeopening not only helping me better understand the polio epidemic but also to know the multifaceted history behind the causes of it.

I loved everything about the book which reads almost like an detective novel including the authors clever way of introducing us to a number of extremely interesting, highly significant but little publicised facts concerning the lead up to a major historical event. The book encourages us to look deeper into the topic of polio and its devastating effects on public health and to draw our own conclusions about its origins. Was polio a result of natural occurring pathogens , toxicity, accidents , ignorance, cover ups, conspiracy, coincidences or simply a mixture of all or any of these? On reading the first chapter of the book my initial reaction was ‘how come I didn’t know anything about this before? Suffice to say, I didn’t want to put this book down until I finished reading it.

Livro faz uma revisão do momento antes, durante e após as epidemias de poliomielite. Pesquisando pontos obscuros do tema. Apresentando outros focos causais da lesão neurológica. Apresentando as vacinas para a polio seus testes pré clínicos e erros. A supressão dos efeitos adversos. Mais a introdução da ventilação mecânica.

I got through this book in 24 hours with a toddler and a baby so I'm very impressed with its readability, while still being incredibly informative and detailed.It goes through the history of polio in chronological order of notable events and really helps the reader understand much of the pathology that historically is likely to have occurred based on evidence we now have. It also provides insight into past practices of cover ups and industry relationships being protected over the importance of human lives, something that we can still see happening to this day. A fascinating read.

Excellent read. Highly recommend. Very eye opening, especially after the experience of the years '20-'23