The Doctor Who Fooled the World: Science, Deception, and the War on Vaccines

Investigative reporter Brian Deer exposes a conspiracy of fraud and betrayal behind attacks on a mainstay of medicine: vaccinations.

2021 IPPY Book Award Winner (Gold) in Health/Medicine/Nutrition, Recipient of the Eric Hoffer Award for Nonfiction in the Culture Category.

From San Francisco to Shanghai, from Vancouver to Venice, controversy over vaccines is erupting around the globe. Fear is spreading. Banished diseases have returned. And a militant "anti-vax" movement has surfaced to campaign against children's shots.
But why?

In The Doctor Who Fooled the World, award-winning investigative reporter Brian Deer exposes the truth behind the crisis. Writing with the page-turning tension of a detective story, he unmasks the players and unearths the facts. Where it began. Who was responsible. How they pulled it off. Who paid.

At the heart of this dark narrative is the rise of the so-called "father of the anti-vaccine movement": a British-born doctor, Andrew Wakefield. Banned from medicine, thanks to Deer's discoveries, he fled to the United States to pursue his ambitions, and now claims to be winning a "war."

In an epic investigation spread across fifteen years, Deer battles medical secrecy and insider cover-ups, smear campaigns and gagging lawsuits, to uncover rigged research and moneymaking schemes, the heartbreaking plight of families struggling with disability, and the scientific scandal of our time.

Brian Deer is a multi-award-winning investigative reporter, best known for inquiries into the drug industry, medicine, and social issues for the Sunday Times of London. briandeer.com @deerbrian

ISBN: 9781421438009
Format: Hardback
Pages: 408
Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
Published: September 29, 2020

Riveting . . . Readers who love a good debunking will find Deer's narrative logical, exciting, and enraging.
—Publishers WeeklySeldom has any new book been more timely than The Doctor Who Fooled the World At times the book reads more like a thriller than a journalistic investigation
—The Sunday TimesAt a time when the World Health Organization lists 'vaccine hesitancy' as one of the top ten threats to global health, this stunning work sounds an urgent message and demonstrates the essential role of investigative journalism in uncovering the truth.
—Foreword ReviewsExposing 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
—The Wall Street JournalAlthough many people think they know this now-infamous story, it is likely they are unaware of all its dramatic details. Curious lay readers and vaccine experts alike are sure to learn something worthwhile from Deer's well-chronicled account.
—Paul A. Offit, ScienceMind-boggling . . . Every chapter drops your jaw.
—BigThinkRiveting . . . a compelling portrait of hubris and the terrible dark shadow it can cast.
—Saad B. Omer, NatureEvocative . . . an incredible story.
—Chemistry WorldThe author not only exposes major flaws in the study itself, he also describes high-pressure tactics used to recruit the young patients and the harmful, invasive procedures used to gather samples.
—Eric Hoffer Award Committee