A Pox on Fools is a book by science writer Thomas Levenson in which he explores the anti-vax movement, both historically and contemporarily. It is due to be published by Head of Zeus on the 7th of May, 2026. I was provided with a review copy by the publishers.

Blurb:

Scientific truth, and the vast benefits of modern medicine, are under sustained attack from conspiracy theorists. Not since the nineteenth century has there been such a relentless assault on tried and tested science.

In this urgent history of anti-vaccine arguments, Thomas Levenson traces the alarming rhetoric of figures such as Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Ron DeSantis back to its roots, examining how their very same talking points have been regurgitated since the early eighteenth century. But what once started as justifiable skepticism of an emerging science is now completely divorced from reality. As Levenson demonstrates, vaccines themselves have transformed beyond recognition, but anti-vaccine rants echo the same meaningless tropes long after they have become obsolete.

This history is vital for our understanding of the political and cultural landscape as it mutates into ever-more terrifying forms. With wit and acerbity, Levenson offers a thorough dissection of anti-vaccine arguments and continuously sets out undeniable evidence for the necessity of inoculation. He warns, above all, of the dangers of proliferation – of anti-vaccine misinformation, and relatedly, of deadly disease and suffering.

It is only in understanding these fools that we can begin to stop them.

Review:

A Pox on Fools is a small book with a long fuse. Thomas Levenson isn’t interested in re‑litigating the science (vaccines work, full stop) but in tracing the strange, stubborn persistence of the people who insist they don’t. What he uncovers is both grimly funny and quietly horrifying: the arguments that animate today’s anti‑vaccine movement aren’t new at all. They’re the same tropes, fears, and conspiratorial flourishes that were circulating in the 1800s, now repackaged by louder grifters with bigger platforms.

Levenson writes with a controlled anger that suits the subject. He stops short of sneering at the honestly confused; he’s going after the architects of doubt, from Victorian sceptics to modern political opportunists. The book’s most chilling moments come from the parallels he draws between early smallpox‑era misinformation and the rhetoric now coming from public officials who should know better. It’s a reminder that bad ideas don’t die; they just wait for a new megaphone.

If the book has a limitation, it’s that you can feel its brevity. The modern landscape of social‑media‑driven disinformation could easily fill another hundred pages, and some readers will wish he’d spent more time there. But as a compact, historically grounded guide to how we got into this mess, and how the same patterns keep repeating, it’s sharp, readable, and genuinely useful.

Levenson’s argument is simple: vaccines have saved millions of lives, and the people undermining them are recycling centuries‑old nonsense with deadly consequences. It’s a short book, but it lands hard.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars