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

Behind every landmark drug there is a story, and in this "lucidly informative and compulsively readable" overview (Publishers Weekly), Thomas Hager traces the evolution of ten medicines that have transformed our culture. Beginning with opium—the addictive "joy plant," which has been used for 10,000 years—Hager tells the captivating story of the largely forgotten female pioneer who introduced smallpox inoculation to Britain, and discusses the infamous knockout drops; the first antibiotic, which saved countless lives; the first antipsychotic, which helped empty public mental hospitals; Viagra, answering a need many could not admit; and the new frontier of monoclonal antibodies.