{"product_id":"9781778402135","title":"The Autumn Ghost","description":"Author: Hannah Wunsch\u003cbr\u003eISBN: 9781778402135\u003cbr\u003ePublisher: Greystone Books\u003cbr\u003eYear first published: 01 Sep 2025\u003cbr\u003ePages: 360\u003cbr\u003eFormat: Paperback \/ softback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA suspenseful, authoritative account of how the battle against a mid-century polio epidemic sparked a revolution in medical care.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAmericans knew polio as the 'summer plague'. In countries further North, however, the virus arrived later in the year, slipping into the homes of healthy children as the summer waned and the equinox approached. It was described by one writer as 'the autumn ghost'.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIntensive care units and mechanical ventilation are the crucial foundation of modern medical care: without them, the appalling death toll of the COVID-19 pandemic would be even higher. In \u003ci\u003eThe Autumn Ghost\u003c\/i\u003e, Dr. Hannah Wunsch traces the origins of these two innovations back to a polio epidemic in the autumn of 1952. Drawing together compelling testimony from doctors, nurses, medical students, and patients, Wunsch relates a gripping tale of an epidemic that changed the world.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn vivid, captivating chapters, Wunsch tells the dramatic true story of how insiders and iconoclasts came together in one overwhelmed hospital in Copenhagen to save the lives of many polio patients dying of respiratory failure. Their radical advances in care marked a turning point in the treatment of patients around the world  from the rise of life support and the creation of intensive care units to the evolution of rehabilitation medicine.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMoving and informative, \u003ci\u003eThe Autumn Ghost\u003c\/i\u003e will leave readers in awe of the courage of those who battled the polio epidemic, and grateful for the modern medical care they pioneered.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e'A perfectly pitched medical mystery that will captivate you from page one.'  Wes Ely, MD, MPH, author of\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eEvery Deep-Drawn Breath\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e, winner of the 2022 Christopher Award for Literature.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Ships in 10 to 15 days","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46852886823070,"sku":"ADS-9781778402135","price":34.78,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0400\/9043\/5742\/files\/9781778402135.jpg?v=1779064212","url":"https:\/\/classicbargains.com.au\/products\/9781778402135","provider":"Classic Bargains Australia","version":"1.0","type":"link"}