Nothing to be Alarmed About

In 2013, Gareth Williams published a comprehensive history of poliomyelitis. On May 10th, he spoke in Swansea about his latest book, ‘The Impossible Bomb’, a highly impressive and detailed history of the nuclear bomb. I gave him a copy of ‘Nothing …’ and he has offered the following comment: ‘An invaluable contribution to understanding the societal impact of polio pre-vaccination‘. I’m pleased that he refers here to the societal impact because all too often histories of particular illnesses focus exclusively upon the impact on the individual victim and family.

In his message, Gareth attached this image of the parents of a polio patient in Copenhagen in the 1950s. Echoing Susan Banner’s drawing that I used on the cover of ‘Nothing …’, it is equally moving. In Hill House Hospital in Swansea, parents were provided with a concrete slab to stand on. It was placed a few feet from the window at the end of a ward.