The untold story of how America's progressive-era war on smallpox sparked one of the great civil liberties battles of the twentieth century.At the turn of the last century, a smallpox epidemic swept the United States from coast to coast. In this gripping account, award- winning historian Michael Willrich chronicles the government's fight against the outbreak and the ensuing clash of modern medicine, civil liberties, and state power. Pox introduces readers to memorable characters on both sides of the debate-from the doctors and club- wielding police charged with enforcing the law to vaccinate every citizen to the anti-vaccinationists, who stood up for their individual freedoms but were often dismissed as misguided cranks. Riveting and thoroughly researched, Pox delivers a masterful examination of progressive-era history that resonates powerfully today.
- ISBN10 0143120786
- ISBN13 9780143120780
- Publish Date 27 March 2012 (first published 1 March 2011)
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country US
- Publisher Penguin Putnam Inc
- Imprint The Penguin Press
- Format Paperback (US Trade)
- Pages 432
- Language English
- URL https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780143120780