Denialism: How Irrational Thinking Hinders Scientific Progress, Harms the Planet, and Threatens Our Lives » (Unabridged)

Michael Specter writes about science, technology, and global public health for The New Yorker, where he has been a staff writer since 1998. Specter previously worked for the The New York Times as a roving correspondent based in Rome and before that as the Times's Moscow bureau chief. He also served as the national science reporter for The Washington Post as well as the New York bureau chief. He has twice received the Global Health Council's Excellence in Media Award, as well as the Science Journalism Award from the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

New Yorker staff writer Michael Specter has twice won the Global Health Council's Excellence in Media Award, as well as the Science Journalism Award from the American Association for the Advancement of Science. In Denialism, he fervently argues that people are turning away from new technologies and engaging in a kind of magical thinking that is hindering scientific progress.

The New York Times - Janet Maslin

In this hotly argued yet data-filled diatribe, Mr. Specter skips past some of the easiest realms of science baiting (i.e., evolution) to address more current issues, from the ethical questions raised by genome research to the furiously fought debate over the safety of childhood vaccinations.

Introduction 1

1 Vioxx and the Fear of Science 23

2 Vaccines and the Great Denial 57

3 The Organic Fetish 103

4 The Era of Echinacea 147

5 Race and the Language of Life 187

6 Surfing the Exponential 225

Acknowledgments 265

Notes 269

Bibliography 275

Index 281