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Wonder Drug: The Hidden Victims of America’s Secret Thalidomide Scandal
By Jennifer Vanderbes
Longlisted for the Andrew 2024 Carnegie Medal for Non-Fiction
The shocking, never-before-told story of America’s thalidomide victims
In Germany on Christmas Day 1956 a baby girl was born without ears. She was the first victim of the notorious thalidomide epidemic. There would be over 10,000 more across 46 countries.
For years the world believed the United States had avoided the catastrophe. After Frances Kelsey at the Food and Drug Administration became suspicious of the dangers of thalidomide in 1960, she led a successful fight to block its commercial approval.
But now, having probed government and corporate archives and interviewed hundreds of key players, Jennifer Vanderbes reveals a darker truth that lay buried for decades. The toxic sedative ostensibly ‘never sold’ in America was widely distributed for over five years under the guise of clinical trials, reaching hundreds of pregnant women. Scores of American babies were, in fact, born with birth defects likely caused by the drug.
Wonder Drug gives a voice to these hidden victims of the twentieth century’s biggest medical scandal, shedding light on the deceptive practices of Big Pharma that still endanger lives around the world today.
”'Both a first-rate medical thriller and the searing account of a forgotten American tragedy. Drawing on six years of groundbreaking research and guided by a keen eye for the indelible detail and an unwavering moral conviction, Vanderbes has produced a shocking saga of pharmaceutical malpractice.” - Patrick Radden Keefe, author of EMPIRE OF PAIN
”'Narrative nonfiction at its most compelling.” - Margot Lee Shetterly, author of HIDDEN FIGURES
”'Thorough investigative work and lucid prose bring to life a little-known American tragedy … A compelling read.” - Abraham Verghese, author of CUTTING FOR STONE
”'A powerful and deeply reported book - Vanderbes’s dogged investigation has finally exposed the true scale of this public health catastrophe.” - Charles Graeber, author of THE GOOD NURSE and THE BREAKTHROUGH
”'Not only a page-turner, but a much-needed call for accountability and justice - an essential addition to our understanding of medical history.” - Megan O’Rourke, author of THE INVISIBLE KINGDOM
”'A deeply researched and chilling must-read.” - Publishers Weekly
”'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.” - Washington Post
‘A significant work … The author weaves the various strands of her riveting tale together with aplomb, and she clearly explains even the most puzzling aspects of it.’Kirkus -
”'Exhaustively reported… Vanderbes makes a complex and important story understandable, ending with an epilogue about thalidomide today. This is a medical must-read.” - Booklist
”'Vanderbes, previously a novelist, tells her story with verve, power, and empathy” - Harvard Public Health
”'Deft and thorough” - The Globe and Mail