As someone who remembers lining up in grade school for a sugar cube containing the polio vaccine but not remembering anything about the cure except the name of Jonas Salk, I looked forward to reading The Woman With the Cure.
It's about time we all learned about the women scientists who played crucial roles in medicine and other fields. I certainly appreciated learning about Dr. Dorothy Horstmann, from her humble beginnings as the daughter of immigrants to highly regarded virologist and medical researcher. Reading what she had to deal with on a daily basis is more than enough to make a feminist out of any reader, and my growing impatience with the men she worked with must mean that we live in (at least slightly) more enlightened times.
Yes, the historical and medical parts of The Woman With the Cure were fascinating and kept me reading, but I found that the execution of the story made that difficult at times. The book could have used a bit more editing and tightening to make the story flow better, and what surprised me was that, although this is the type of story that should've had me totally engrossed and cheering Dorothy on, I never really felt engaged with it. So... The Woman With the Cure is an important story that deserves a better telling. However, I am glad that I now know so much more about the fight for the polio vaccine and about Dr. Dorothy Horstmann, who went on to combat rubella after polio was conquered.
(Review copy courtesy of the publisher and Net Galley)
It's about time we all learned about the women scientists who played crucial roles in medicine and other fields. I certainly appreciated learning about Dr. Dorothy Horstmann, from her humble beginnings as the daughter of immigrants to highly regarded virologist and medical researcher. Reading what she had to deal with on a daily basis is more than enough to make a feminist out of any reader, and my growing impatience with the men she worked with must mean that we live in (at least slightly) more enlightened times.
Yes, the historical and medical parts of The Woman With the Cure were fascinating and kept me reading, but I found that the execution of the story made that difficult at times. The book could have used a bit more editing and tightening to make the story flow better, and what surprised me was that, although this is the type of story that should've had me totally engrossed and cheering Dorothy on, I never really felt engaged with it. So... The Woman With the Cure is an important story that deserves a better telling. However, I am glad that I now know so much more about the fight for the polio vaccine and about Dr. Dorothy Horstmann, who went on to combat rubella after polio was conquered.
(Review copy courtesy of the publisher and Net Galley)
