The Discovery of Insulin
Book description
When insulin was discovered in the early 1920s, even jaded professionals marveled at how it brought starved, sometimes comatose diabetics back to life. In this now-classic history, Michael Bliss unearths a wealth of material, ranging from the unpublished memoirs of scientists to the confidential appraisals of insulin by members of…
Why read it?
1 author picked The Discovery of Insulin as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
Bliss’s classic book is the definitive account of the discovery of insulin by Canadians Frederick Banting, Charles Best, J.R.R. Macleod, and James Collip. I share this story in my book but Bliss delves far deeper into this incredible tale full of drama and human failings.
Bliss describes Banting as a failed surgeon who had a middle-of-the-night epiphany about how to isolate the unknown product of the pancreas’s mysterious islets of Langerhans cells. Eminent scientist Macleod gives Banting a chance and some lab space, but in the end, Banting accuses Macleod of stealing credit for this discovery that turns diabetes from…
From Andrew's list on the history of medicine.
Want books like The Discovery of Insulin?
Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like The Discovery of Insulin.
Share your top 3 reads of 2024!
And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.
1,188
readers submitted
so far, will you?
