The Remedy {Tuesday's Treasure}

Have you ever wondered how we came to live in such a healthy society ?  Do you ever stop to think about how in the space of less than 100 years we have gone from an average life span of 35 - 50 years to 70-100?  Did you ever wonder how society became germ-o-phobic?  I must confess I had never considered these things until recently when I read the book:  The Remedy. This is one of those books that will change your perspective on life.  Thomas Goetz takes you on an incredible biographical journey through the founding fathers of modern medicine and the scientific method. 

The Details

• Title: The Remedy : Robert Koch, Arthur Conan Doyle and the Quest to Cure Tuberculosis
• Format: Paperback
• Number of Pages: 298
• Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc
• Publication Date: 09 Apr 2015
• ISBN 10: 1592409172
• ISBN 13: 9781592409174
• Author: Thomas Goetz

About the book: "The riveting history of tuberculosis, the world’s most lethal disease, the two men whose lives it tragically intertwined, and the birth of medical science.

In 1875, tuberculosis was the deadliest disease in the world, accountable for a third of all deaths. A diagnosis of TB—often called consumption—was a death sentence. Then, in a triumph of medical science, a German doctor named Robert Koch deployed an unprecedented scientific rigor to discover the bacteria that caused TB. Koch soon embarked on a remedy—a remedy that would be his undoing.

When Koch announced his cure for consumption, Arthur Conan Doyle, then a small-town doctor in England and sometime writer, went to Berlin to cover the event. Touring the ward of reportedly cured patients, he was horrified. Koch’s “remedy” was either sloppy science or outright fraud.

But to a world desperate for relief, Koch’s remedy wasn’t so easily dismissed. As Europe’s consumptives descended upon Berlin, Koch urgently tried to prove his case. Conan Doyle, meanwhile, returned to England determined to abandon medicine in favor of writing. In particular, he turned to a character inspired by the very scientific methods that Koch had formulated: Sherlock Holmes.

Capturing the moment when mystery and magic began to yield to science, The Remedy chronicles the stunning story of how the germ theory of disease became a true fact, how two men of ambition were emboldened to reach for something more, and how scientific discoveries evolve into social truths." - Penguin Random House

To be honest had I seen this book on the library shelf I would have passed it by.  However on the recommendation of a good friend I started reading and discovered a very well written book. In fact I enjoyed it so much I sincerely hope the BBC take this book and make a docudrama out of it!

If you have high school students who are aiming to have a career in the medical field I highly recommend they read this book. This book will change the way you view life.  Thomas introduces you to some of the amazing scientists/Doctors who pursued knowledge in order to make life better and prevent death among the many who were dying daily.  These men set the stage on which modern medicine plays out today.  This book chronicles the very birth of modern medical science as we know it today.   Follow the lives of Robert Koch and Arthur Conan Doyle. You will be surprised to learn how the worlds favourite detective sleuth (Sherlock Holmes) is pivotal to our current understanding of the scientific method and why as a society we are so very preoccupied with chemical disinfectants!

If you have read The Remedy I would love to hear your thoughts on this interesting book.

Blessings
Chareen