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Title: The Mold in Dr. Florey's Coat: The Story of the Penicillin Miracle by Eric Lax ISBN: 0-8050-6790-6 Publisher: Henry Holt & Company Pub. Date: 01 April, 2004 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $25.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 5 (1 review)
Rating: 5
Summary: A Fountain of Information in a Pot-Boiler of a Story
Comment: This book covers more than twenty-five years of the quest for a viable bacteria fighter recounting the lives of the major players and further depicting the slow progress of medical invention combating infection through all history. The most critical era of this story, however, is coincidently the most important and harrowing years of the 20th century. The all too real threat of a Nazis invasion of Great Britain served as the backdrop for this story's most vital moments.
Few would argue against the notion that the discovery and creation of Penicillin as a viable life saving medication is the most important medical event of the 20th century. Mr. Lax in a detailed, can't put it down, page-turner manages to incorporate the nuances of all of the disparate personalities of the main characters whose devotion to their science and unrelenting commitment to the saving of untold millions of lives refuse to be deterred by the often overwhelming obstacles that faced them each day. In this new century when bringing a drug to market is reputed to take upwards of 10 to 15 million dollars, we watch as Dr. Florey goes before his money sources for research at Oxford and other entities of the time in hopes of raising $100.00 for supplies and comes away with $25.00. (That's right, the decimal points were not misplaced) What we see to our amazement is that they made due.
Dr. Norman Heatley was a genius at coming up with a substitute for just about every necessary hospital research tool imaginable. We share his glee when he shows the rest of the team his latest Rube Goldberg contraption for making some vital process work.
There are countless anecdotes in the day-to-day stories of the mission's successes and failures, all notes and attributions are scrupulously noted by Mr. Lax.
Surreptitious night flights to America via Lisbon with blacked out plane windows, reminiscent of many wonderful movies of the forties portraying life risking events surrounded by war had me shaking my head not simply because of the inherent palpable drama but because it all really happened.
The Americans did lend support in terms of money and ingenuity but it was this team of Oxford scientists who would not be denied. Because of them millions of lives were saved before the end of World War Two and countless millions continue to be saved as a result of the second, third and fourth generations of anti-biotic drugs spawned by their initial discovery.
Mr. Lax has, to the great satisfaction of the reader, set the record straight. He gave credit where it was due without disparaging the reputations of any of many important contributors. It was pleasing and insightful to learn the true story of the greatest medical discovery of the century. Further, that these scientists did their work for the betterment of mankind rather than for the unabated lust for money and power that now confront us daily in news reports cannot be ignored.
My words and recollections only touch the tip of the iceberg that is this story, I urge everyone to pick up a copy of The Mold In Dr. Florey's Coat and then pass it on to a friend. Who knows maybe the notion of doing things for all of the right reasons might just start to spread.
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Title: The Great Influenza: The Epic Story of the Deadliest Plague In History by John M. Barry ISBN: 0670894737 Publisher: Viking Books Pub. Date: 05 February, 2004 List Price(USD): $29.95 |
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Title: The Scientists: A History of Science Told Through the Lives of Its Greatest Inventors by John R. Gribbin ISBN: 1400060133 Publisher: Random House Pub. Date: 21 October, 2003 List Price(USD): $35.00 |
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Title: The Doctors' Plague: Germs, Childbed Fever, and the Strange Story of Ignac Semmelweis (Great Discoveries) by Sherwin B. Nuland ISBN: 0393052990 Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: October, 2003 List Price(USD): $21.95 |
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Title: The $800 Million Pill: The Truth Behind the Cost of New Drugs by Merrill Goozner ISBN: 0520239458 Publisher: University of California Press Pub. Date: 01 April, 2004 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: The Meaning of Everything: The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary by Simon Winchester ISBN: 0198607024 Publisher: Oxford University Press Pub. Date: 01 September, 2003 List Price(USD): $25.00 |
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