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

The evolution of medicine and culture is traced through the stories of landmark drugs, such as opium, smallpox inoculation, knockout drops, antibiotics, antipsychotics, Viagra, statins, and monoclonal antibodies, in this century-spanning history.

Format: Hardback
Length: 304 pages
Publication date: 05 March 2019
Publisher: Abrams

Every landmark drug has a fascinating story to tell. It might be the result of an eccentric researcher's brilliant idea, a momentous event in geopolitical history, a groundbreaking technology, or an unexpected but beneficial side effect found during clinical trials. To piece together these tales, as Thomas Hager does in this remarkable, century-spanning history, is to trace the evolution of our culture and the practice of medicine.

Hager begins with opium, the "joy plant," which has been used for 10,000 years. 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.

Weight: 524g
Dimension: 161 x 237 x 25 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781419734403