Experiment Eleven by Peter Pringle
In 1943, Albert Schatz, a young Rutgers College Ph.D. student, worked on a wartime project in microbiology professor Selman Waksman's lab, searching for an antibiotic to fight infections on the front lines and at home. On his eleventh experiment on a common bacterium found in farmyard soil, Schatz discovered streptomycin, the first effective cure for tuberculosis, at that time the world's leading killer disease. As director of Schatz's research, Waksman took credit for the discovery, belittled Schatz's work, and secretly enriched himself with royalties from the streptomycin patent filed by Merck, the pharmaceutical company. In an unprecedented lawsuit, young Schatz sued Waksman, was awarded the title of "co-discoverer" and a share of the royalties. But two years later, Professor Waksman alone was awarded the Nobel Prize. Schatz disappeared into academic obscurity. For the first time, acclaimed author and journalist Peter Pringle reveals the scandals behind one of the most important discoveries in the history of medicine. The story unfolds on a tiny college campus in New Jersey, but its repercussions spread worldwide. The streptomycin patent was a breakthrough for the drug companies, overturning patent limits on products of nature and paving the way for today's biotech world. As dozens more antibiotics were found, many from the same family as streptomycin, the drug companies created oligopolies and reaped big profits. Pringle uses first-hand accounts and archives in the U.S. and Europe to unravel the intensely human story behind the discovery that started a revolution in the treatment of infectious diseases and shaped the future of Big Pharma
A fantastic book, gripping in all the best ways: a classic in the history of science * Matt Ridley on Experiment Eleven *
The story of Experiment Eleven is amazing, as is its brilliant reporting, narrative verve and cool command of scientific ideas * Sylvia Nasar, author of A Beautiful Mind *
Experiment Eleven is a riveting and heartbreaking book * New Scientist *
An elegant thriller.. he explains the minutiae of scientific experiments with as much clarity as he elucidates the human drama * Daily Express *
A useful popular addition to a necessary rebalancing of history * Financial Times *
Well documented and painstakingly researched ... I read Peter Pringle's skilful account open-mouthed * Peter Lawrence, Medical Research Council Laboratory, Cambridge *
A painful tale, told in gripping detail * Oldie *
This book [Food, Inc.] is a compelling indictment of corporate power exercised under the guise of altruism * Washington Post on Food Inc. *
Anyone who picks up this book ... will find Food, Inc. to be a feast of honest reporting and serious thought * New York Times *
In Food, Inc., the veteran reporter Peter Pringle offers a refreshingly measured look at this brave new world of 'gene guns', Flavr Savr tomatoes, contaminated taco shells... * New Yorker *
The story of Experiment Eleven is amazing, as is its brilliant reporting, narrative verve and cool command of scientific ideas * Sylvia Nasar, author of A Beautiful Mind *
Experiment Eleven is a riveting and heartbreaking book * New Scientist *
An elegant thriller.. he explains the minutiae of scientific experiments with as much clarity as he elucidates the human drama * Daily Express *
A useful popular addition to a necessary rebalancing of history * Financial Times *
Well documented and painstakingly researched ... I read Peter Pringle's skilful account open-mouthed * Peter Lawrence, Medical Research Council Laboratory, Cambridge *
A painful tale, told in gripping detail * Oldie *
This book [Food, Inc.] is a compelling indictment of corporate power exercised under the guise of altruism * Washington Post on Food Inc. *
Anyone who picks up this book ... will find Food, Inc. to be a feast of honest reporting and serious thought * New York Times *
In Food, Inc., the veteran reporter Peter Pringle offers a refreshingly measured look at this brave new world of 'gene guns', Flavr Savr tomatoes, contaminated taco shells... * New Yorker *
Peter Pringle is a veteran British foreign correspondent and the author of several nonfiction books, including New York Times Notable, Food, Inc., and the best-selling Those Are Real Bullets, Aren't They? He has written for the New York Times and the Washington Post. He lives in New York City.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781408814017 |
| ISBN 10 | 1408814013 |
| Title | Experiment Eleven |
| Author | Peter Pringle |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing PLC |
| Year published | 2012-04-12 |
| Number of pages | 288 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |