The Story of a Great Delusion in a Series of Matter-of-Fact Chapters

The author examines the history and controversy surrounding inoculation and vaccination, tracing variolation's introduction, Jenner's development of cowpox vaccination, early triumphs, subsequent scientific disputes over vaccine sources (including animal-origin theories), and controversies over safety, efficacy, revaccination, and compulsory laws. Chapters review case studies, statistical claims, reported complications and fatalities, legal and political responses, anti-vaccination resistance, and debates within the medical profession. The narrative interweaves historical episodes, medical testimony, and social analysis to question prevailing assurances and to explore the public-health and civil-liberty implications of enforced immunization.