The Demon Under The Microscope

By: Thomas Hager

Narrated by: Stephen Hoye

Length: 12 hrs and 14 mins

Publisher's summary

The Nazis discovered it. The Allies won the war with it. It conquered diseases, changed laws, and single-handedly launched the era of antibiotics. This incredible discovery was sulfa, the first antibiotic medication. In The Demon Under the Microscope, Thomas Hager chronicles the dramatic history of the drug that shaped modern medicine.

Sulfa saved millions of lives, among them, Winston Churchill's and Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Jr.'s, but its real effects have been even more far reaching. Sulfa changed the way new drugs were developed, approved, and sold. It transformed the way doctors treated patients. And it ushered in the era of modern medicine. The very concept that chemicals created in a lab could cure disease revolutionized medicine, taking it from the treatment of symptoms and discomfort to the eradication of the root cause of illness.

A strange and vibrant story, The Demon Under the Microscope illuminates the colorful characters, corporate strategy, individual idealism, careful planning, lucky breaks, cynicism, heroism, greed, hard work, and central (though mistaken) idea that brought sulfa to the world. This is a fascinating scientific tale with all the excitement and intrigue of a great suspense novel.

©2006 Thomas Hager (P)2006 Tantor Media, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Highly entertaining." (Publishers Weekly)

Nice work

Enjoyed a lot. I thought it was odd that a book about the science of medicine mentioned homeopathy a few times without describing what it is, though. Describing it would illustrate exactly why it is out of favor (to put it mildly) with science-based medical professionals. I learned a lot of interesting history from this book, it's read well by the narrator, and I overall recommend it.

slow start, but picks up

it could be because of my medical background that I found this book starting up a bit slow. However, it was fairly well developed and half way through I finally got wrapped up in the story and the characters. Nice and tidy wrap up also. well written overall.

Fascinating bit of history

This book is well researched and well constructed. It takes the reader through the development of sulfa drugs, their impact on history and there eventual replacement with modern antibiotics. The history here is fascinating.

The industrial brute force method of Bayer to find new products, the eventual understanding of why sulfa works, the competition between manufacturers, the expansion of the FDA and the implementation of prescription requirements for drugs. All this causes the reader to think how medicine got to where it is today and how blessed we are to have 'miracle' drugs at our disposal.

I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in science, medicine, and/or modern history.

You'll be surprized

Would you listen to The Demon Under The Microscope again? Why?

Probably not.. I already knew most of it... and I have so many books to listen to that I haven't heard.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The details about the wound care...and the history....and bringing those characters to life that I've read about in all the biology courses I've taken. I just loved that.

What does Stephen Hoye bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He made every word enjoyable.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The struggle that people had to go through just to get basic good care instituted.

Any additional comments?

You'll be surprised how much you like this book.

Educational and Interesting

This is a very good listen for anyone interested in a bit of antibiotic and microbiology history. Although it focuses on sulfa the author does explain a general history as well. As someone who has worked in a microbiology laboratory I very much enjoyed learning about some of the ways we got to our current lab/social environment involving antibiotics, dyes and drugs.

Extremely interesting for any history buff

What about Stephen Hoye’s performance did you like?

He was very good. He has a nice voice, doesn't make you fall alseep or fall into monotone. Perfect for history and science narration.

Any additional comments?

I love history but had no knowledge of the subject of this book. It was very interesting, eye-opening, and informative. I think they did a very good job of weaving together the lives of the people that made the medicines possible, the history of the societies they came out of, and wrapping up nicely with a result of those those medicines of the past affect modern life.

Excellent rendering of a forgotten story

Would you consider the audio edition of The Demon Under The Microscope to be better than the print version?

The narrator was excellent.

What did you like best about this story?

The very human characters, flaws and all, who worked tirelessly to do great things for humankind.

What does Stephen Hoye bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The narrator kept the story moving forward in a way that made you wonder what would happen next.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The imprisonment of Domagk, and its long term effect, was heart rendering.

Any additional comments?

I heartily recommend this book. People living today don't understand how different the world was before the creation of sulfa drugs.

good to know

Very interesting and informative.
Good narration.

Detailed and engaging

Required some patience and persistence to get through some of the detailed explanations, but I really enjoyed the broad scope and perspective.

Sulfa drugs history.

Well documented story of the development of the first effective bacteriostatic drugs. Particularly moving is the life and work story of Gerhard Domagk, credited the development of Prontosil, first antibiotic.