Brian Deer is a British investigative journalist, best known for inquiries into the drug industry, medicine, and social issues for The Sunday Times. Deer’s investigative nonfiction book – The Doctor Who Fooled the World, an exposé on disgraced former doctor Andrew Wakefield and the 1998 Lancet MMR autism fraud, was published in September 2020 by Johns Hopkins University Press.
The Doctor Who Fooled the World
In September 2020 Johns Hopkins University Press published in North America Deer’s investigation of Andrew Wakefield and the origins of the anti-vaccine movement in his book, The Doctor Who Fooled the World: Science, Deception, and the War on Vaccines. This was simultaneously published in the United Kingdom and Australasia by Scribe. Reviews included The Times Book of the Week where columnist David Aaronovitch wrote, “This is a remarkable story and this is a remarkable book… helping to explain the political and social predicament that now afflicts so many of us — the crisis in truth and its exploitation by people without scruple.” Reviewing for the leading science journal Nature, Saad Omer praised the book as “riveting… a compelling portrait of hubris and the terrible dark shadow it can cast.”
Among other reviews, Michael Shermer in The Wall Street Journal wrote, “Exposing researchers who lie, cheat and fake their data often requires the work of courageous whistleblowers or tenacious investigative journalists. Enter Brian Deer, an award-winning reporter for The Sunday Times of London.” Publishers Weekly also described the book as “riveting”, and the Big Think website said, “Every chapter drops your jaw”. According to Foreword Reviews, “This stunning work sounds an urgent message and demonstrates the essential role of investigative journalism in uncovering the truth.”