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Ten Drugs

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

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Ten Drugs

Written by: Thomas Hager
Narrated by: Angelo Di Loreto
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Summary

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.

©2019 Thomas Hager (P)2019 Audible, Inc. Medicine & Health Care Industry Science World Medicine Pharmacology Mental Health Health
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fantastic book for the Layman as it is for the healthcare professional. very entertaining, describes many interesting facts and development as well as individuals involved in the development of some of the most important advances in science and medicine.

well written, narrator excellent as well

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Generally, a great read and strong narration. However, the flow of the book shifted disturbingly in chapter 9, shifting suddenly to a description of the author's experience with preventative medicine and statins in particular. I wonder on first reading, if avoiding his sudden first person narrative style in chapter 9 would have maintained stronger focus through to its objection account of monoclonal antibody development. On the other hand, given my background in epidemiology and strong interest into the nature of true disease, chapter 9 got me thinking anew about market forces that too quickly disappear from my awareness.

I would listen to this a second time...

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This was an awesome book, and was very engaging as an audio book! A must-read

I learned so much!

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