The epic history of how antibiotics were born, saving millions of lives and creating a vast new industry known as Big Pharma.

As late as the 1930s, virtually no drug intended for sickness did any good; doctors could set bones, deliver babies, and offer palliative care. That all changed in less than a generation with the discovery and development of a new category of medicine known as antibiotics. By 1955, the age-old evolutionary relationship between humans and microbes had been transformed, trivializing once-deadly infections.

William Rosen captures this revolution with all its false starts, lucky surprises, and eccentric characters. He explains why, given the complex nature of bacteria -- and their ability to rapidly evolve into new forms -- the only way to locate and test potential antibiotic strains is by large-scale, systematic, trial-and-error experimentation. Organizing that research needs large, well-funded organizations and businesses, and so our entire scientific-industrial complex, built around the pharmaceutical company, was born.

Timely, engrossing, and eye-opening, Miracle Cure is a must-read science narrative -- a drama of enormous range, combining science, technology, politics, and economics to illuminate the reasons behind one of the most dramatic changes in humanity's relationship with nature since the invention of agriculture ten thousand years ago.

• We started tracking this book on August 20, 2016.
• This book was $14.99 when we started tracking it.
• The price of this book has changed 114 times in the past 3,480 days.
• The current price of this book is $4.99 last checked 3 hours ago.
• The lowest price to date was $4.99 last reached on March 1, 2026.
• This book has been $4.99 6 times since we started tracking it.
• The highest price to date was $14.99 last reached on January 12, 2025.
• This book has been $14.99 17 times since we started tracking it.
• This book is currently at its lowest price since we started tracking it.

• Medical eBooksSpecialtiesPathologyLaboratory Medicine
• Medical eBooksSpecial TopicsMedicine
• Medical eBooksSpecial Topics

• Publication Date: May 9, 2017
• Text-to-Speech: Disabled
• Lending: Disabled
• Print Length: 362 Pages
• File Size: 114 KB