You say that Dr. Spock was "very controversial." Anyone who was around in the sixties and seventies (as I was) will know that most criticism of his book was highly political rather than scientific with the major criticism coming from a politically conservative TV/radio preacher Norman Vincent Peale and Spiro Agnew ex vice president and convicted felon. This criticism focused on Spock's anti-war activism and accused the pediatrician of creating a "permissive" generation which took part in the sixties left wing activism. If you have read Spock's book carefully through, you will know there is very little in it to substantiate such vast and down-right ridiculous allegations.
In any case it is not surprising that a book which hugely transformed thinking in the US about child care would be subject to some criticism.Spock's response to such criticism was thoughtfully made in all subsequent editions of the book including his comments on "prone sleeping" and his favorable response to certain feminist fault-finding like the use of the pronoun 'he' throughout the original edition.
As for his failure to fully credit his wife for her contributions, my own copy of his book which has stood on my shelves for nearly 50 years contains a full page dedication in which he details her painstaking contributions to his book. You can find her own description of her work in a 1976 interview in the New York Times which does not support your suggestion that she 'wrote much of the book.' She clearly acted as a research assistant and in her own words she "was at the typewriter from 9 P.M. to 1 A.M. every night for a year while he slowly dictated to me". Not exactly the role of a co-author.
I realize I've made a big deal about defending Spock's reputation, but I do feel that the original criticisms launched against him in the original article were grossly unfair to him.
My own assessment of the original article on which we have both commented is based on my training as an historian of science (Harvard, PhD, 1969 with a Masters degree from Harvard Medical
School). I am interested in Spock's contribution, culturally and scientifically partly because his book was so helpful in the raising of my own daughter.
