Jonas Salk: A Life by Charlotte DeCroes Jacobs

Hardcover, 576 pages Published May 19th 2015 by Oxford University Press, USA (first published April 3rd 2015) ISBN 0199334412 (ISBN13: 9780199334414) ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ WOW! This is a MUST READ for biology teachers. I had only heard snippets of this story, and they seem to have been related to me incorrectly. I am so glad I have read (listened) to this book. Jacobs does a great job with his early life, and that of his parents. She addresses the controversy of the killed vs. weakened vaccine, Salk vs. Sabin, and other stories. Jacobs gives us real insight as to the founding of the NFIP (National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis) which started the March of Dimes. The beginning of this is amazing, and gave rise to Salk's idea that the people of the nation own the vaccine, as they provided the funds for its development. Again, I say, READ THIS BOOK. It is really long, but all really good books are!

Comments

Survival of the Sickest: an Amazon Review

Amazon.com Review Dan Ariely on Survival of the Sickest MIT professor Dan Ariely has become one of the leaders in the growing field of behavioral economics, and his bestselling book debut, Predictably Irrational, has brought his ideas--and his ingenious experiments and charming sense of humor--to a much wider audience. With the simplest of tests (often an auction or a quiz given under a few conditions) he shows again and again not only that we are wired to make irrational decisions in many situations, but that we do so in remarkably predictable ways. I have always been puzzled by the way in which genetic diseases have managed to survive throughout the ages. How could it be that these diseases were able to withstand the evolutionary process, where only the most fit survive, and continue to be transferred from one generation to the next? Survival of the Sickest provides a thought provoking yet entertaining explanation to this puzzle. In this insightful book Dr. Sharon Moalem demonstra...

Lifting Depression

by Kelly Lambert visit her website I am a crochet-er and have been for years, so when I heard a woman talking about how the hand-mind connection was a treatment for depression (on NPR's To the Best of Our Knowledge last fall), I perked up. She discussed how our society has worked so hard to automate things, when we actually need to do hand work to keep a healthy mind. Okay, that was my first exposure! I attended the Delta Kappa Gamma Southeast Regional Conference this summer in Little Rock - and there she was, talking about depression and the need for people to work with their hands. Kelly discussed her book and the effort-driven rewards system. She explained that making things for others made us feel good. Well, maybe I have always known that! I hardly sit down without a project in my hands! Her book is a joy to read, and can really help each of us deal with down times and maybe understand those who live in depression daily. I have decided that I will read this book to my ...

Dragon's Teeth - by Michael Crichton

What a fun story based on history! The plot winds around the animosity between paleontologists Marsh and Cope, as told by a fictional member of the dig party. We are taken (in the form of our protagonist, William Johnson) to the Badlands, Deadwood, into Indian raids, labeled as a traitor, attacked on all sides by all kinds of people, and then we get home a changed young man. If you know history, you will enjoy they way Crichton weaves momentous events and remarkable historical persons into the story. You will find yourself thinking "I know what's coming," because you do, if you know anything about the WEST in the 1870's, or know some of the background with Marsh and Cope. I listened to this story as a traveled each week, getting about 2 hours of the book on each trip. After each two hours, I wanted more, but I forced myself to wait for the next week. I was sad to be finished with it yesterday.

Aleta's Book Report

Search This Blog