In 1998 Andrew Wakefield, a British gastroenterologist with a history of self-promotion, published a paper with a shocking allegation: The measles-mumps-rubella vaccine might cause autism. In the years to come, Wakefield would be revealed as a profiteer in league with classaction lawyers, and he would eventually lose his medical license. Meanwhile, one study after another failed to find any link between childhood vaccines and autism. Yet the myth that vaccines somehow cause developmental disorders lives on. Despite the lack of corroborating evidence, it has been popularized by media personalities such as Oprah Winfrey and legitimized by journalists who claim that they are just being fair to “both sides” of an issue about which there is little debate. Most tragic of all is the increasing number of children dying from vaccine-preventable diseases. In The Panic Virus, Seth Mnookin draws on interviews with parents, public-health advocates, scientists, and anti-vaccine activists to tackle a fundamental question: How do we decide what the truth is? The Panic Virus is a riveting and sometimes heartbreaking medical detective story that explores the limits of rational thought. It is the ultimate cautionary tale for our time.