The New York Times Book of Medicine
Gina Kolata and Abraham Verghese . Unknown Year . English
Today we live longer, healthier lives than ever before in historical transformation due almost entirely to tremendous advances in medicine. This change is so profound, with many major illnesses nearly wiped out, that it's hard now to imagine what the world was like in 1851, when the new York Times began publishing. Treatments for depression, blood pressure, heart disease, ulcers, and diabetes came later; antibiotics were nonexistent, viruses unheard of, and no one realized yet that DNA carried blueprints for life or the importance of stem cells. Edited by award-winning writer gina kolata, this eye-opening collection of 150 articles from the New York Times archive charts the developing scientific insights and breakthroughs into diagnosing and treating conditions like typhoid, tuberculosis, cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer's, and aids, and chronicles the struggles to treat mental illness and the enormous success of vaccines. It also reveals medical mistakes, lapses in ethics, and wrong paths taken in hopes of curing disease. Every illness, every landmark has a tale, and the newspaper's top reporters tell each one with perceptiveness and skill.
Categories: Historical Fiction
About the Author
I’m a senior medical writer for the New York Times and the author of nine books and editor of three. I’ve given talks across the nation and in Europe and Asia and taught a science writing seminar at Princeton University. I have been on just about every major news and radio show including the morning news shows, Sixty Minutes, Charlie Rose, Steven Colbert, Fresh Air and most other NPR talk shows. I have won numerous prizes and was a Pulitzer finalist twice. And, strangely enough, I am also a Kentucky Colonel, like Colonel Sanders. But all that sounds like a resume, and what really matters of course is who am I and what motivates me and what do I care about? I like to think I am much more than my job, although my Times work is one of my passions. I have an incredible family and wonderful friends that I cherish. I love distance running – I’ve run five marathons – and road cycling. I knit and I cook. I love the ocean and cannot go through a summer without spending time at the beach. But my favorite seasons are summer and fall. I know, you think the next thing I will tell you is that I like pina coladas and walking in the rain. Actually, those are two things I do not like. But what I do like, what I turn to for sheer pleasure, is literary fiction. And when I decide to write a book, I latch onto the story. My books are meant to engage you, as they engage me. I want you to care about the narrative and the characters as much as I do. I want them to be page turners, but true, absolutely factual. And I want them to be rich with ethical and social issues so that you come away haunted by what you have just read.
