Pulitzer Prize Awarded to Polio: An American Story

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., APRIL 18, 2006 – The March of Dimes congratulates David M. Oshinsky, author of the book Polio: An American Story (2005, Oxford University Press) for receiving the 2006 Pulitzer Prize in History for his vivid, gripping account of the polio story.

Dr. Oshinsky is the George Littlefield Professor of American History at the University of Texas at Austin.  Polio: An American Story was published last year to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the Salk polio vaccine.  The book was based in part on research he conducted in the March of Dimes Archives.  

According to The New York Times today, “[Dr. Oshinsky's] history weaves together several stories: the bitter race between Drs. Jonas Salk and Albert Sabin to find a vaccine, the role of Franklin D. Roosevelt in financing a cure and the profound effect of the March of Dimes campaign.

‘It was a shining moment of American volunteerism,' Dr. Oshinsky said.  ‘It really revolutionized the way we do medical research and philanthropy in the United States.  The genius of the March of Dimes was to turn [polio] into America's disease,' he said, citing modern advertising techniques, poster children and celebrities.” 

Read more at http://www.nytimes.com/ref/arts/pulitzers2006.html.

Click here for a complete list of recent books on polio, vaccines, and the March of Dimes that have utilized the resources of the March of Dimes Archives.