The Remedy: Robert Koch, Arthur Conan Doyle and the Quest to Cure Tuberculosis

(Paperback)

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Description

In 1882, through a series of experiments, scientist Robert Koch discovered the germ that caused TB. Eager for greater glory, he abandoned his principles and prematurely announced a cure, a remedy. As Europe's consumptives descended upon Berlin, so too did Arthur Conan Doyle, a small town doctor and sometime writer. Investigating Koch's remedy, he was aghast to discover its true nature. The Remedy explores this pivotal moment for both men. Conan Doyle was influenced by Koch's discoveries to create a scientific detective, Sherlock Holmes, and Koch defended his remedy.

Reviews

A thoughtful, patient, ultimately fascinating account of the struggle of 19th century science, and society, to come to grips with the germ theory of illness, and develop new technologies to take on one of humanitys oldest scourges, tuberculosis.
-- Forbes

A gripping story... with great verve, painting word pictures full of color and telling detail... vividly evokes the rivalries rife in the scientific world.
-- Washington Times

An enjoyable chronicle.
-- The Wall Street Journal

"Immensely pleasurable... a superb narrative... [Goetz is] a fluid and elegant writer, with a knack for painting the personalities of those involved."
The Lancet

Weaves the suspense of a Sherlock Holmes mystery into a tale of ambition, obsession, scientific discovery and skepticism at the dawn of modern medicine.
Discover Magazine

A thoroughly enjoyable and illuminating journey through several decades of European history and an intimate portrait of two once-obscure doctors who shaped it. It's a book that illustrates how the imagination and the intellect can work in concert to cure a disease, or to delight an audience of millions.
Los Angeles Times

The Remedy is a highly entertaining, interesting, and thought-provoking book, leaving the reader with a much deeper appreciation of how much safer and in many ways, predictable our lives are today thanks to the toil and efforts of men such as Robert Koch and his contemporaries."
Boston Globe

The Remedy achieves a rare feat: serious, accurate scientific writing that is also engaging and entertaining.
--Shelf Awareness

Goetz weaves together a compelling narrative, chronicling the struggle to find the causes and cures for some of the most ferocious diseases that have stalked humans (and animals) through time: cholera, smallpox, anthrax and tuberculosis... Perhaps most importantly, The Remedy reminds us of how far we have come, and how much we take for granted in modern medicine.
Bookpage

"An intriguing medical and literary history fascinating, convergent stories [of] doggedly inquisitive men who discovered that neither germs nor crime are any match for science."
Publishers Weekly

A beguiling real-life medical detective story.

Kirkus Reviews

"The Remedy is a rare, thrilling achievement: a book that helps us understand the roots of transformative ideas that simultaneously manages to tell a story worthy of a 19th-century novel, full of surprising links, rivalries, and intellectual triumph."
Steven Johnson, author of The Ghost Map

"In The Remedy,Thomas Goetz offers a wonderfully original origins story for modern science. He weaves together one of the great achievements of the nineteenth century--the germ theory of disease--with the creation of the fictional superhero of science, Sherlock Homes, with grace and surprise."
Carl Zimmer, author of A Planet of Viruses and The Tangled Bank: An Introduction to Evolution




"A thoughtful, patient, ultimately fascinating account of the struggle of 19th century science, and society, to come to grips with the germ theory of illness, and develop new technologies to take on one of humanitys oldest scourges, tuberculosis."
Forbes

"A gripping story... with great verve, painting word pictures full of color and telling detail... vividly evokes the rivalries rife in the scientific world."
Washington Times

"An enjoyable chronicle."
The Wall Street Journal

"Immensely pleasurable... a superb narrative... [Goetz is] a fluid and elegant writer, with a knack for painting the personalities of those involved."
The Lancet

"Weaves the suspense of a Sherlock Holmes mystery into a tale of ambition, obsession, scientific discovery and skepticism at the dawn of modern medicine."
Discover

A thoroughly enjoyable and illuminating journey through several decades of European history and an intimate portrait of two once-obscure doctors who shaped it. It's a book that illustrates how the imagination and the intellect can work in concert to cure a disease, or to delight an audience of millions.
Los Angeles Times

The Remedyis a highly entertaining, interesting, and thought-provoking book, leaving the reader with a much deeper appreciation of how much safer and in many ways, predictable our lives are today thanks to the toil and efforts of men such as Robert Koch and his contemporaries."
Boston Globe

The Remedyachieves a rare feat: serious, accurate scientific writing that is also engaging and entertaining.
--Shelf Awareness

Goetz weaves together a compelling narrative, chronicling the struggle to find the causes and cures for some of the most ferocious diseases that have stalked humans (and animals) through time: cholera, smallpox, anthrax and tuberculosis... Perhaps most importantly,The Remedyreminds us of how far we have come, and how much we take for granted in modern medicine.
Bookpage

"An intriguing medical and literary history fascinating, convergent stories [of] doggedly inquisitive men who discovered that neither germs nor crime are any match for science."
Publishers Weekly

"A beguiling real-life medical detective story."
Kirkus Reviews

"The Remedyis a rare, thrilling achievement: a book that helps us understand the roots of transformative ideas that simultaneously manages to tell a story worthy of a 19th-century novel, full of surprising links, rivalries, and intellectual triumph."
Steven Johnson, author ofThe Ghost Map

"InThe Remedy,Thomas Goetz offers a wonderfully original origins story for modern science. He weaves together one of the great achievements of the nineteenth century--the germ theory of disease--with the creation of the fictional superhero of science, Sherlock Homes, with grace and surprise."
Carl Zimmer, author ofA Planet of Viruses and The Tangled Bank: An Introduction to Evolution

Author Bio

Thomas Goetz is a science writerand health-care innovator. The cofounderof Iodine, a health technology company, hehas served as entrepreneur in residence atthe Robert Wood Johnson Foundation andexecutive editor at WIRED. His writing hasbeen selected repeatedly for the Best AmericanScience Writing and Best Technology Writinganthologies. He lives in San Francisco.