Jennifer Vanderbes Chronicles the Dark History of Thalidomide

The Book Case

You might know the historical fiction of Jennifer Vanderbes, but just wait until you read Wonder Drug: The Secret History of Thalidomide in America and Its Hidden Victims. Think thalidomide didn’t affect mothers and children in this country? Think again. Wonder Drug is the hidden American story of thalidomide: yes, it did get to pregnant women and yes there were children born effected by phocomelia in this country. Although the system denied their existence for decades, this beautifully researched book tells their story, as well as the deeply disturbing truth about how this drug was distributed behind the backs of the FDA. Join us.

Book mentioned in this week's episode:

• Wonder Drug: The Secret History of Thalidomide in America and Its Hidden Victims by Jennifer Vanderbes
• Easter Island by Jennifer Vanderbes
• The Secret of Raven Point by Jennifer Vanderbes
• Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe
• Tightrope: Americans Reaching for Hope by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn
• These are the Plunderers: How Private Equity Runs—and Wrecks—America by Gretchen Morgenson and Joshua Rosner
• Write for Your Life by Anna Quindlen
• Portrait of a Lady by Henry James

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