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Dancing in My Dreams: Confronting the Spectre of Polio (Kerry Highley, Monash University Publishing)

In the first half of the 20th century, polio was a scourge that blighted thousands of lives in Australia. As other infectious diseases were being conquered, polio seemed to be getting worse, and its terrifying effects, combined with the mystery surrounding its transmission, brought fear to millions around the country. Kerry Highley’s often harrowing account is thoroughly researched and well-written, although at times it comes across more like a doctoral thesis than a popular history. She describes how the epidemics happened and how the treatment of sufferers was a battleground between medical orthodoxy and the methods of Sister Elizabeth Kenny. Sister Kenny’s methods—to exercise the affected muscles rather than immobilise them—came to be broadly accepted worldwide but were stifled in her home country by the conservative medical establishment. Highley also relates how, after some false starts, the disease was finally understood and vaccines developed and successfully put into use. Part medical history part social history, this book should find a broad readership among those who enjoy quality Australian nonfiction. Scarily, polio has not been completely eradicated and could still make a comeback. Dancing in My Dreams should be required reading for the anti-vaccination crowd.

Dave Martus is a freelance writer and former bookseller

 

Category: Reviews