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The Doctor Who Fooled the World

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The Doctor Who Fooled the World: Science, Deception, and the War on Vaccines is a 2020 non-fiction book by Brian Deer, published by Johns Hopkins University Press. It is about Andrew Wakefield and the Lancet MMR autism fraud case.

This was simultaneously published in the United Kingdom and Australasia by Scribe.

The book has a section explaining scientific terminology. The book is aimed at varying groups of readers.[1]

Reception

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The Times Book of the Week columnist David Aaronovitch wrote, "This is a remarkable story and this is a remarkable book… helping to explain the political and social predicament that now afflicts so many of us — the crisis in truth and its exploitation by people without scruple."[2]

Reviewing for the leading science journal Nature, Saad Omer praised the book as "riveting… a compelling portrait of hubris and the terrible dark shadow it can cast."[3]

Among other reviews, Michael Shermer in The Wall Street Journal wrote, "Exposing researchers who lie, cheat and fake their data often requires the work of courageous whistleblowers or tenacious investigative journalists. Enter Brian Deer, an award-winning reporter for The Sunday Times of London."[4]

Reviewer Peter Lindsay wrote that "This book needs to be read widely".[1]

The magazine Publishers Weekly wrote that the work in all is "a good debunking" that is "riveting" as well as having a text that is "logical, exciting, and enraging".[5]

Big Think website said, "Every chapter drops your jaw".[6]

According to Foreword Reviews, "This stunning work sounds an urgent message and demonstrates the essential role of investigative journalism in uncovering the truth."[7]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Lindsay, Peter (January 2021). "Books: long read: The Doctor Who Fooled The World. Andrew Wakefield's War On Vaccines". Br J Gen Pract. 71 (702): 34–35. doi:10.3399/bjgp21X714557.
  2. ^ Aaronovitch, David (4 September 2020). ""The Doctor Who Fooled the World" by Brian Deer review — the father of anti-vaxxer lies". The Times. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
  3. ^ Omar, Saad (27 October 2020). ""The discredited doctor hailed by the anti-vaccination movement."". Nature. 586 (7831): 668–669. doi:10.1038/d41586-020-02989-9. S2CID 225099435. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
  4. ^ Shermer, Michael (27 September 2020). ""The Doctor Who Fooled the World. Review: Vax Populi"". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
  5. ^ "The Doctor Who Fooled the World: Science, Deception, and the War on Vaccines". Publishers Weekly. Vol. 267, no. 12. March 2020. p. 76.
  6. ^ Beres, Derek (30 September 2020). ""How the media helped fuel the anti-vaxx movement."". The Big Think. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
  7. ^ Rabe, Kristen (May 2020). ""The Doctor Who Fooled the World."". Foreword Review. Retrieved 1 October 2020.

Further reading

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  • Nyberg, David (2022). "The Doctor Who Fooled the World: Science, Deception, and the War on Vaccines". Journal of Medical Regulation. 108 (2): 34–35.
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