Today on Between the Covers, Suzanne LaGrande interviews science writer, lecturer and author Thomas Hager, discussing his newly published book, Ten Drugs: How Plants, Powders, and Pills Have Shaped the History of Medicine
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.
Hager has been an invited lecturer and guest scholar at a number of universities, and has spoken widely to groups ranging from the American Association for the Advancement of Science to the Goddard Space Center, Fortune 500 corporate boards, medical gatherings, and school and civic organizations.
He will be giving a reading from his book at Powells City of Books on Sunday March 31, 2019 at 7:30 pm
For more about Thomas's work visit Thomashager.net
- KBOO