Kluger, a senior writer at Time and co-author of the work that became the movie Apollo 13, turns to a popular history of the drama-packed struggle to eradicate polio in the mid-20th century. Jonas Salk eventually became a cultural hero to a generation, but the task wasn't an easy one. The story, told 50 years after the trials of Salk's vaccine, involves disease, fear, science, and politics. Each chapter begins with a b&w photo from the era. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Jeffrey Kluger is a senior writer at Time. He is the co-author, with Jim Lovell, of Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13, which was the basis for the movie Apollo 13, and the author of Moon Hunters: NASA's Remarkable Expeditions to the Ends of the Solar System.

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