Miracle at Coney Island

In "Miracle at Coney Island: How a Sideshow Doctor Saved Thousands of Babies and Transformed American Medicine," Claire Prentice reveals the remarkable story of Martin Couney, known as the "incubator doctor," who showcased premature infants at Coney Island from 1903 to 1943. Operating his facility without charging parents and instead inviting the public to view the infants, Couney claimed an impressive survival rate of 85 percent, contrasting sharply with the views of mainstream doctors of his time. Prentice's detailed research uncovers Couney's enigmatic background and highlights the transformative impact he had on American medicine through interviews with those he saved.