Authors: Roy Richard Grinker
Publish Date: 2009/01/16
Volume: 39, Issue: 3, Pages: 544-546
Abstract
In Autism’s False Prophets Paul Offit MD Maurice R Hilleman Professor of Vaccinology Professor of Pediatrics at The University of Pennsylvania and coinventor of a rotavirus vaccine makes an important contribution to popular debates about the etiology and treatment of autism spectrum disorders The book is arguably the most detailed and thorough history available of the current antivaccine movement and the increasingly widespread popular belief that vaccines and/or ingredients in vaccines are related both to autism and the changing prevalence of autism Offit provides a sustained scientific attack against the misinformation disseminated by the media and a small but vocal group of antivaccine advocates He pays special attention to the therapies and therapists autism’s “false prophets” that emerged out of the current antivaccine movement And by situating the autism debate in the larger context of the complex interactions between science society and politics Offit
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