Supremely well-informed arguments that may not slow the anti-science movement.
The title says it all, and the news is bad.
Hotez, a professor of pediatrics, molecular virology, and microbiology at Baylor College of Medicine and author of Preventing the Next Pandemic, has spent his life developing vaccines, mostly for poor nations. He also speaks and writes against the anti-vaccine movement. Especially since relocating to Texas a decade ago, this has subjected him to an avalanche of abusive emails and social media posts, heckling, denunciation in books, and even physical confrontations. In addition to disseminating misinformation about climate change and other issues, the anti-science movement proclaims that vaccines are a dangerous nostrum pushed by a corrupt medical establishment and oppressive government, so freedom lovers must push back. The author’s short, passionate polemic, dense with studies and charts, provides overwhelming evidence that scientific research benefits humanity and that vaccines are lifesavers. This hasn’t prevented anti-science movements from flourishing with enthusiastic support from both social and traditional media. Searching Amazon books for vaccine turns up a stream of diatribes. Perhaps most discouraging, anti-science has become politicized. Among the 200,000 unvaccinated Americans who died unnecessarily from Covid-19, Republicans dominate—and the redder the state, the higher the loss of life. According to a major study in early 2022, “70% more Trump voters than Biden voters have died of COVID since the 2020 election.” Hotez works hard to demonstrate his and fellow scientists’ honesty and disprove the movement’s outpouring of vicious attacks, but it’s unlikely readers will doubt their credentials since few anti-vaxxers are likely to pick up this book. The author points out the similarity between today’s extremists and those supporting Stalin’s and Hitler’s murderous attacks on scientists who deviated from the party line. Readers may not perk up as he concludes by urging scientists to speak out. Like many educators, Hotez believes that presenting the facts will convert people with deeply held false beliefs; unfortunately, numerous scientific studies have proven otherwise.
Supremely well-informed arguments that may not slow the anti-science movement.Pub Date: Sept. 19, 2023
ISBN: 9781421447223
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Johns Hopkins Univ.
Review Posted Online: June 2, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2023
An engrossing and ominous chronicle, told by a master of the form.
Documenting perilous times.
In his most recent behind-the-scenes account of political power and how it is wielded, Woodward synthesizes several narrative strands, from the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection and Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel to the 2024 presidential campaign. Woodward’s clear, gripping storytelling benefits from his legendary access to prominent figures and a structure of propulsive chapters. The run-up to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is tense (if occasionally repetitive), as a cast of geopolitical insiders try to divine Vladimir Putin’s intent: “Doubt among allies, the public and among Ukrainians meant valuable time and space for Putin to maneuver.” Against this backdrop, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham implores Donald Trump to run again, notwithstanding the former president’s denial of his 2020 defeat. This provides unwelcome distraction for President Biden, portrayed as a thoughtful, compassionate lifetime politico who could not outrace time, as demonstrated in the June 2024 debate. Throughout, Trump’s prevarications and his supporters’ cynicism provide an unsettling counterpoint to warnings provided by everyone from former Joint Chief of Staff Mark Milley to Vice President Kamala Harris, who calls a second Trump term a likely “death knell for American democracy.” The author’s ambitious scope shows him at the top of his capabilities. He concludes with these unsettling words: “Based on my reporting, Trump’s language and conduct has at times presented risks to national security—both during his presidency and afterward.”
An engrossing and ominous chronicle, told by a master of the form.Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2024
ISBN: 9781668052273
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 15, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2024
IN THE NEWS
A fierce, penetrating, and empowering call for change.
Artist and activist Vaid-Menon demonstrates how the normativity of the gender binary represses creativity and inflicts physical and emotional violence.
The author, whose parents emigrated from India, writes about how enforcement of the gender binary begins before birth and affects people in all stages of life, with people of color being especially vulnerable due to Western conceptions of gender as binary. Gender assignments create a narrative for how a person should behave, what they are allowed to like or wear, and how they express themself. Punishment of nonconformity leads to an inseparable link between gender and shame. Vaid-Menon challenges familiar arguments against gender nonconformity, breaking them down into four categories—dismissal, inconvenience, biology, and the slippery slope (fear of the consequences of acceptance). Headers in bold font create an accessible navigation experience from one analysis to the next. The prose maintains a conversational tone that feels as intimate and vulnerable as talking with a best friend. At the same time, the author's turns of phrase in moments of deep insight ring with precision and poetry. In one reflection, they write, “the most lethal part of the human body is not the fist; it is the eye. What people see and how people see it has everything to do with power.” While this short essay speaks honestly of pain and injustice, it concludes with encouragement and an invitation into a future that celebrates transformation.
A fierce, penetrating, and empowering call for change. (writing prompt) (Nonfiction. 14-adult)Pub Date: June 2, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-09465-5
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: March 14, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2020
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
