Murder, Magic, and Medicine

by John Mann

Book Overview

This absorbing account of the evolution of modern medicine from its roots in folk culture will entertain and inform both scientists and general readers alike. It explains the chemical basis of modern pharmacology, and provides a fascinating description of the use and abuse of natural products in various societies through the ages and how this largely trial-and-error process has led to the development of many of the drugs we now take for granted. Primitive...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 019855561X
• ISBN13: 9780198555612
• Release Date: January 1992
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 1.28 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.4" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

Intriguing influence of plants and microoganisms on history.

John Mann creatively links science and history together by referencing historical events, like the witch trials, to chemicals produced naturally by microorganisms, plants and animals. I use this book in an introductory science course to demonstrate how important natural products are in our society today -- whether the chemical is beneficial or deadly. Easy reading for the non-scientist, but factual enough for the scientist.