People have always been curious about the plants and animals with which they coexist. Primitive cultures identified edible and poisonous plants largely by trial and error, and then used them for hunting, executions, euthanasia, and magico-religious rites, as well as for their medicinalproperties. In this fascinating book, John Mann investigates the evolution of modern medicine from its roots in folk medicine, and reveals the continuing importance of natural plant and animal products, many of which remain undiscovered but under threat by the wholesale destruction of the Earth'swild places. In this new edition, he has updated the material to include discussion of the background to some of the most talked-about drugs of recent years, including Prozac and Viagra. 'This is an erudite treasure trove in which each page sparkles with a concoction of historical anecdote andscientific revelation.' The Good Book Guide 'The book is peppered throughout with the legend, superstition and science of bygone ages, and interesting reading they make.' New Scientist 'This highly entertaining account investigates the evolution of modern medicines. ...Professor Mann does it withgreat style.' The Lancet '... an excellent introductory text for those not liable to dizziness as they jump from one culture to another, or one century to the next. ' Nature '... provides intelligent material for those advocating conservation of our global plant resources because of theirpotentially important reservoir of therapeutically active chemicals for animal and human disease.' The Times Higher Education Supplement 'Delightfully rich... buy and read Mann's wonderful book.' Chemical and Engineering News

This absorbing account of the evolution of modern medicine from its roots in folk medicine will entertain and inform both scientist and general reader alike. It explains the chemical basis of pharmacology, and provides a fascinating description of how the use and abuse of natural products in various societies throughout the ages has led to the development of many of the drugs we now take for granted.

Australian.

"Excellent…Tucker’s chronicle of the world of 17th-century science in London and Paris is fascinating." —The Economist In December 1667, maverick physician Jean Denis transfused calf’s blood into one of Paris’s most notorious madmen. Days later, the madman was dead and Denis was framed for murder. A riveting exposé of the fierce debates, deadly politics, and cutthroat rivalries behind the first transfusion experiments, Blood Work takes us from dissection rooms in palaces to the streets of Paris, providing an unforgettable portrait of an era that wrestled with the same questions about morality and experimentation that haunt medical science today.

Set in an alternate reality where Richard the Lionheart’s descendants rule the Anglo-French Empire, the laws of magic have developed in place of the laws of physics. In this late 20th century world, people still travel through pea fog by horse and carriage, but magic has made levitation and enchantment spells the norm, especially at a sorcerer’s convention. The International Sorcerer’s Convention is in full swing. Until London’s Chief Forensics Sorcerer, Sir James Zwinge, is found dead inside a locked room, that is. Master Sean O Lochlainn had been at odds with Sir James over competing breakthroughs in incision-free surgery, making him the prime suspect. It’s up to Lord Darcy to solve Sir James’ murder and exonerate his own forensic sorcerer and trusted assistant. But the mystery deepens when the murder of a Naval spy is connected to that of Sir James’ death. Conflict with Poland, a dominating world power, changes the game and suddenly there is a lot more at stake than the freedom of Lord Darcy’s old friend. Too Many Magicians was nominated for the Hugo Award in 1967, and the complete Lord Darcy series later won the Sideways Award for Alternate History.

Society columnist Nora Blackbird is thrust into the world of celebrity tabloid gossip when a billionaire buys the farm…. Nora’s assigned to write a profile on billionaire fashion designer Swain Starr, who recently retired to build a high-tech organic farm with his new wife, Zephyr, a former supermodel. But before Nora can get the story, the mogul is murdered. And now her boss wants her to snap up an exclusive on who killed Starr before the cops do. But solving this murder won’t be easy with a family as colorful as Nora’s. Mick, her sort-of husband, is associating with unsavory characters from his past. Her sister Libby is transforming into a stage mom for her diabolical twins. And Emma, the youngest Blackbird, is mysteriously kicked out of the house by Mick. Nora’s home life may be hogging the spotlight, but there’s also a matter of Starr’s missing pig, which just might be the key to solving this mystery and the way Nora can bring home the bacon….

On September 14, 1989, Joseph Wesbecker entered a Louisville, Kentucky printing plant and shot twenty people with an automatic rifle before turning the gun on himself. Wesbecker had been severely depressed and was taking Prozac, and the families of the victims sued Prozac's manufacturer, Eli Lilly, on the grounds that the popular antidepressant had caused Wesbecker's deranged mental state. The resulting trial instigated unprecedented research into the mind of a "spree killer" — and raised provocative questions about the delicate, dangerous balance pharmaceutical companies must oversee between the public good and the bottom line. In this absorbing book, John Cornwell interweaves the Wesbecker trial with a provocative exploration of issues of identity and personality. He takes us beyond the courtroom and into the laboratories and boardrooms of the corporations who daily make life-and-death decisions concerning the public welfare. The result is a timely, compelling look at what it means and what can happen when science gives us the ability to manipulate who we are and how we behave.

"An artful reconstruction of seventeenth-century Paris with riveting storytelling." —The New Yorker In the late 1600s, Louis XIV assigns Nicolas de la Reynie to bring order to Paris after the brutal deaths of two magistrates. Reynie, pragmatic and fearless, discovers a network of witches, poisoners, and priests whose reach extends all the way to the king’s court at Versailles. Based on court transcripts and Reynie’s compulsive note-taking, Holly Tucker’s engrossing true-crime narrative makes the characters breathe on the page as she follows the police chief into the dark labyrinths of crime-ridden Paris, the halls of royal palaces, secret courtrooms, and torture chambers.

Equal parts true crime, twentieth-century history, and science thriller, The Poisoner's Handbook is "a vicious, page-turning story that reads more like Raymond Chandler than Madame Curie." —The New York Observer “The Poisoner’s Handbook breathes deadly life into the Roaring Twenties.” —Financial Times “Reads like science fiction, complete with suspense, mystery and foolhardy guys in lab coats tipping test tubes of mysterious chemicals into their own mouths.” —NPR: What We're Reading A fascinating Jazz Age tale of chemistry and detection, poison and murder, The Poisoner's Handbook is a page-turning account of a forgotten era. In early twentieth-century New York, poisons offered an easy path to the perfect crime. Science had no place in the Tammany Hall-controlled coroner's office, and corruption ran rampant. However, with the appointment of chief medical examiner Charles Norris in 1918, the poison game changed forever. Together with toxicologist Alexander Gettler, the duo set the justice system on fire with their trailblazing scientific detective work, triumphing over seemingly unbeatable odds to become the pioneers of forensic chemistry and the gatekeepers of justice. In 2014, PBS's AMERICAN EXPERIENCE released a film based on The Poisoner's Handbook.

There are no clear demarcation lines between magic, astrology, necromancy, medicine, and even sciences in the pre-modern world. Under the umbrella term 'magic,' the contributors to this volume examine a wide range of texts, both literary and religious, both medical and philosophical, in which the topic is discussed from many different perspectives. The fundamental concerns address issue such as how people perceived magic, whether they accepted it and utilized it for their own purposes, and what impact magic might have had on the mental structures of that time. While some papers examine the specific appearance of magicians in literary texts, others analyze the practical application of magic in medical contexts. In addition, this volume includes studies that deal with the rise of the witch craze in the late fifteenth century and then also investigate whether the Weberian notion of disenchantment pertaining to the modern world can be maintained. Magic is, oddly but significantly, still around us and exerts its influence. Focusing on magic in the medieval world thus helps us to shed light on human culture at large.