Ten Drugs : How Plants, Powders, and Pills Have Shaped the History of Medicine

Behind every landmark drug is a story. It could be an oddball researcher's genius insight, a catalyzing moment in geopolitical history, a new breakthrough technology, or an unexpected but welcome side effect discovered during clinical trials. Piece together these stories, as Thomas Hager does in this remarkable, century-spanning history, and you can trace the evolution of our culture and the practice of medicine. Beginning with opium, the "joy plant," which has been used for 10,000 years, Hager tells a captivating story of medicine. His subjects include the largely forgotten female pioneer who introduced smallpox inoculation to Britain, the infamous knockout drops, the first antibiotic, which saved countless lives, the first antipsychotic, which helped empty public mental hospitals, Viagra, statins, and the new frontier of monoclonal antibodies. This is a deep, wide-ranging, and wildly entertaining book. "An expert, mostly feel-good book about modern medicine.", Kirkus "Lucidly informative and compulsively readable.", Publishers Weekly "Hager's book is entertaining, insightful, and recommended", Booklist "[an] absorbing new book" The New York Times Book Review "A compelling look at the serendipitous discovery of ten modern medicines, as well as useful discussions about the wider problems facing today's pharmaceutical industry. . . This well-written book offers a captivating backstory of each of the selected drugs and how, as the book's subtitle suggests, they shaped the history of medicine." The Pharmaceutical Journal "In his book Ten Drugs: How Plants, Powders, and Pills Have Shaped the History of Medicine, Thomas Hager explores the landmark drugs that changed medical practice, finding out how they were discovered, what goes into making them and why they made such a significant impact on our society." BBC Science Focus