Accessibility Tools

  • Content scaling 100%
  • Font size 100%
  • Line height 100%
  • Letter spacing 100%

Silent Shock by Michael Magazanik

by
August 2015, no. 373

Silent Shock by Michael Magazanik

Text Publishing, $32.99 pb, 368 pp, 9781922182098

Silent Shock by Michael Magazanik

by
August 2015, no. 373

Silent Shock is an ambitious, important book. It is a work of history, a work of journalism, and a forensic exposé of hideous corporate negligence, all woven around the lives of one modest Melbourne family.

Former journalist turned lawyer Michael Magazanik was one of the dozens of lawyers, barristers, and researchers who worked on a recent class action against Grünenthal, the manufacturer of thalidomide, and Distillers, the drug’s distributor. The legal action was taken on behalf of more than one hundred people in Australia and New Zealand who were born with serious birth defects as a result of their mothers taking the German-made sedative.

Thalidomide was sold from 1957 until late 1961. It killed or disabled between ten thousand and fifteen thousand babies around the world. Thousands more were miscarried or stillborn.

Pregnant women were prescribed the drug for morning sickness, anxiety, and sleeplessness. Thalidomide was marketed as ‘outstandingly safe’. Its success shows how few options women had then.

You May Also Like

Leave a comment

If you are an ABR subscriber, you will need to sign in to post a comment.

If you have forgotten your sign in details, or if you receive an error message when trying to submit your comment, please email your comment (and the name of the article to which it relates) to ABR Comments. We will review your comment and, subject to approval, we will post it under your name.

Please note that all comments must be approved by ABR and comply with our Terms & Conditions.