Aspirin: The Extraordinary Story of a Wonder Drug
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Product Description
Irish Times
‘Blends politics, big business, social and medical history, greed, incredible dedication and human folly in a lively page-turner read’
Review
'Fascinating ... Aspirin appears to be one of the most useful drugs ever discovered. Thanks to the work of all the scientists so deservedly recalled in this books, it is also extremely cheap: in fact no drug is cheaper. Perhaps there is something in the notion of providence after all' Anthony Daniels, Sunday Telegraph 'This biography of aspirin has some cracking factoids' Scotland on Sunday 'An enthralling read ... fascinating ... the author pieces the jigsaw together in thriller style' David O'Donoghue, Sunday Business Post 'He tells a story which blends politics, big business, social and medical history, greed, incredible dedication and human folly in a lively page-turner read' Irish Times
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I admit to having bought this book on a whim, but found it fascinating. The whole history of aspirin type drugs is charted in an easy to read style, without feeling like a history lesson. Particularly interesting to me were the way in which rival manuafacturers tried to out-sell each other using at times unsubstantiated claims that still form the basis of many slogans and campaigns even now. 'No stronger pain relief available' really does translate to 'they are all exactly the same' it seems. There are one or two chapters where at times the scienitic terms became a little heavy going for me, but the vast majority of the book is a series of interesting snap-shots of history - from 1860's Egyptian Tomb raiders, 'medicine' in the 1700's, primitive resarch laboratories and 1960's adrvertising. On top of this there is the century long corporate battle between several companies that have become household names - but that at times have bankrolled the military might of the Nazi party (IG Faben)!
Ultimately though it was simply interesting to know how these 1p pills work and to see what a wide range of benefits are associated with them. Heart attack prevention and even in some cases cancer prevention, anyone?
It seems that the cheapness of the tablets now that they are out of patent now counts against them, in that none of the drug companies will now fund trials to investigate even the little-understood cancer prevention properties, as there is no long term profit in it for them. Highly recommended!
Ultimately though it was simply interesting to know how these 1p pills work and to see what a wide range of benefits are associated with them. Heart attack prevention and even in some cases cancer prevention, anyone?
It seems that the cheapness of the tablets now that they are out of patent now counts against them, in that none of the drug companies will now fund trials to investigate even the little-understood cancer prevention properties, as there is no long term profit in it for them. Highly recommended!
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This guy has researched aspirin to the Nth degree and has distilled his knowledge into a fascinating book. Buy it!
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Great book. I'm not always one for non-fiction, but I bought this book because I knew that Dundee, my home town, had something to do with the aspirin story. I didn't expect to be gripped so thoroughly, even forgoing my usual Ian Rankin/Paricia Cornwell/Kahy Reichs books until it was finished!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A great read
This is an excellent biography of a little white pill. It is quite amazing that the roots of this tablet go back to the times of the Pharoahs. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Mr. G. Kirkpatrick
Fascinating
This book is well written having been well researched and gives the story of a simple and highly efficacious drug that has influenced not only the pharmaceutical industry but has... Read more
Published 22 months ago by D. Eves
Interesting and engaging pop science
An engaging history of the drug, from its discovery to the modern day - it covers a great deal of history through the people involved, both known and unknown, as well as the fates... Read more
Published on 29 Sep 2009 by Nick G
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