polio

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Students! Are you needing to write a research paper on the subject of Polio or Post-Polio Syndrome? Here are some suggestions of where you can find the information you need.

We do not offer here a complete list of all the books, articles and stories that are available. That would be over-whelming and confusing. Rather, we list what we consider to be the most helpful items in each category. To do more surfing on your own, we suggest that you start with our page, "Links to Organizational (mostly) Websites."

Articles on the Web || Helpful books || Personal stories of people who had polio

Sometimes we are asked for information about iron lungs and/or iron lung users. Check out Jann Hartman's extensive page about Iron Lung Survivors; it is excellent. Also see "Poliomyelitis History," and the stories about Dianne Odell and Martin Hutchinson.

Articles on the Web

For an introduction to polio, see Wikipedia's article on Polio. Includes a photo of the polio virus.

The Immunization Action Coalition has an excellent page about polio. It includes questions and answers about polio, photos, case histories, references and more. Highly recommended.

The Polio History Pages, a site published by Edmund J. Sass, Ed. D. Highly recommended! You may find everything you need at this site. It has much more than just history.

Poliomyelitis History (Includes a photo of the polio virus, photos of iron lungs and other historical photographs. Lots of links and articles. Voluminous site.)

"Conquering the Dreaded Crippler, Polio" - Another history, with lots of good pictures. By Pat Zacharias of The Detroit News.

Worldandi.com has a good biographical article about Jonas Salk, the developer of the first polio vaccine. "Prospects for a More Hopeful Future" should be helpful to you.

A student named Katie published an Annotated Bibliography, a list of the places where she found information about Jonas Salk for a paper she wrote. Good resource.

Read about "Famous People who had Polio." Don't stop with the list of names; scroll down the page to read their stories. From Claudius of Rome and Sir Walter Scott to today's actors, musicians, athletes, scientists, business people and more. Very informative.

The Polio Plus program of Rotary International - In 1985, Rotary International launched this 20-year commitment to eradicate polio, one of the most ambitious humanitarian undertakings ever made by a private entity. This page contains a wealth of information about the global polio eradication effort.

Helpful Books

We recommend the following books for your research. You can go to your city library and see if they have the books you want, or you may order them from the Websites listed below.

Dirt and Disease : Polio Before FDR, (Health and Medicine in American Society) by Naomi Rogers

A Paralyzing Fear : The Story of Polio in America, by Nina Gilden Seavey, Jane S. Smith, Paul Wagner

Polio, by Thomas M. Daniel (Editor), Frederick C. Robbins (Editor)

Wilma Rudolph, by Victoria Sherrow; illustrations by Larry Johnson. Carolrhoda Books, Inc., 2000. (How Wilma overcame polio and won three Olympic gold medals.)

The Story of Jonas Salk and the Discovery of the Polio Vaccine. (Cornerstones of Freedom) by Jim Hargrove

Jonas Salk : Discoverer of the Polio Vaccine. (People to Know) by Carmen Bredeson

Patenting the Sun : Polio and the Salk Vaccine, by Jane S. Smith

The Hidden Dangers in Polio Vaccine, by Eleanor McBean

Contagious and Non-Contagious Infectious Diseases Sourcebook : Basic Information About Contagious Diseases Like Measles, Polio, Hepatitis B, and Infection, by Karen Bellenir (Editor), Peter D. Dresser (Editor)

The above books can be found at Amazon.Com or Barnes&Noble.Com. More can be found by doing a search for "polio."

An excellent source for books on the subject of polio is half.ebay.com/products/books/. Type "polio" into the search box and you'll find lots of bargains. Or, of course, you can scope the site for ideas of titles to look for in your favorite library.

You will find a number of closeout books on polio at HamiltonBook.Com. Search for a title or description for "polio."

Over 200 used books on polio are available at: AbeBooks.Com. Search for keyword "polio" or the specific book you want.

Personal Stories of People Who Got Polio

Read the second-hand stories of "Famous People who had Polio."

"Dream-breaker - Polio" -- a chapter from inspirational speaker Dan Miller's book, "Living, Laughing and Loving Life."

"Standing With Confidence" -- the story of a five-year old when she got polio.

"Polio, the Scourge of the Twentieth Century" - the stories of two young boys who contracted polio the same time, across the world from each other.

Carl Cortez's story - Polio at 14 months of age defined his life.

Bill contracted polio at the age of 13 months. He's got a wonderful photo of him some months later - a little Texas cowboy!

"Polio survivor in iron lung has beaten all odds," is the story about Dianne Odell, who has spent most of her 50+ years in an iron lung - and still has a Life!

Another story by an iron lung user is "My Life With an Iron Lung", by Martin Hutchinson.

See also P.E.N.'s Our Own Stories page for the personal stories of people coping with post-polio syndrome.

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