Jonas Salk

On April 12, 1955, the public learned that Jonas Salk had developed a working vaccine against polio, and he was instantly celebrated. Raised in a tenement in New York, Salk was modest in person and seemed made for the mid-century role of a scientific hero, a figure in a white lab coat. Awards and honors followed in great numbers, and for a time his name was listed alongside Gandhi and Churchill among the most admired people of the era. Yet the community he most wanted to win over, other scientists, stayed notably quiet about him.

This biography, described as the first complete account of Salk's life, sets out to explain a complicated man who was both unconventional and often misunderstood. Fellow researchers accused him of not giving enough credit to others and looked down on his enjoyment of publicity. Long before his fame, many colleagues had already found him hard to read and difficult to like. Driven by a strong wish to help humanity, he was at first unaware, and later accepted, the personal price he paid, along with the price his family and friends bore. The public nevertheless continued to regard him as a beloved hero.

The author draws on hundreds of personal interviews and on access to Salk's previously sealed papers. The book also covers ground beyond the polio vaccine, including his role in developing an early influenza vaccine, his effort to bring science and the humanities together at the Salk Institute, and his groundbreaking research on AIDS.