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)

Informative and entertaining. A must!

The story does a very good job on jumping over time and space to show the history and implications of a great discovery! Antibiotics. More easily said than done. A story worth telling!

appreciation for what goes into modern medicine

What did you love best about The Demon Under The Microscope?

The connections between the battlefield and the lab.

What did you like best about this story?

How it flows from one advance to the next, especially how dies play a part.

Which character – as performed by Stephen Hoye – was your favorite?

Domach

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Hope where none was expected

Clinically addictive

Where does The Demon Under The Microscope rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Its in the top 7.

What other book might you compare The Demon Under The Microscope to and why?

Might compare it with A Short History of Nearly Everything and Guns, Germs and Steel.

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

He adds humanity to all the technical jargon.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

At times, but the information is very dense. So, you want to take it easy.

Any additional comments?

It was a pleasant surprise. It was a revelation to read about the transformation of modern medicine.

Thrilling and enlightening

If you could sum up The Demon Under The Microscope in three words, what would they be?

Thrilling, informative, enlightening

Who was your favorite character and why?

Dr. Gerhard Domagk, a model of the German scientist, who combined insight, persistence and courageSir Almroth Wright, who though wrong about the potential of chemical drugs had great insight in regard to medicine and the immune system: for his intelligence and individualistic temperament.

What about Stephen Hoye’s performance did you like?

He reads clearly and well, though a little on the slow side (I listened at 1.25 speed). His pronunciation of French and German names are occasionally faulty: in particular, the French city Boulogne came out sounding like 'Bouloin'(as in 'purloin'); and the Viennese doctor Ignaz Semmelweis came out sounding like Zimmelweis or sometimes Simmelweis. I repeat my recommendation that foreign names be spelt out the first time they appear: this would facilitate their recognition considerably (for even if the reader knew a foreign language perfectly, which can hardly be expected, the perfectly pronounced foreign name may still be incomprehensible to a listener who doesn't know the language). I decided nonetheless to give him five stars because in compensation he has a pleasant tenor voice that is ideal for understanding on my Bose bluetooth speaker (hence preferable to deeper voices).

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

I wept when Dr.Klee (a relatively minor character) after making his way with great difficulty to Theresienstadt when his Jewish wife was sent there, found the camp liberated and had to trudge home in despair, only to find that she had managed to get home in disguise. Though this was surely one of the happiest stories of families in similar plight at that time, it brings home the horror of being in Nazi Germany. I was also very moved by Dr.Domagk's 1947 trip to Stockholm that was beset by endless difficulties, to finally receive the Nobel Prize he had been awarded eight years earlier and which the Nazis refused to allow (even subjecting him to arrest and harassment because of it). There is also the moment when the too cautious Dr.Colebrook's assistant providentially got contaminated by strep bacteria and chose imminent death forced him to administer the sulfa drug he still refused to try on humans (even though in Germany it had been successfully used); his speedy recovery led to trying it on seven women in the maternity ward who surely would otherwise have died, and from there to the drug being released.

Any additional comments?

The book made me aware of what it was like to live in the world before antibiotics (which only came into use in 1936). I could hardly stop listening, and would recommend the book to all, together with Thomas Hager's equally fascinating 'The Alchemy of Air'

Fascinating and Significant

As an armchair medical historian this book was an absolute delight! Tracing the chemical history with adept weaving of the tales of the lives of all who contributed and impacting … not to mention the far-reaching implications of these innovations. It was a pleasure to listen each day!

Credit to the author for such a thought-provoking and informative read. Credit to the narrator for delivering it clearly and eloquently.

Five stars all around.

Medical history's biggest step forward...

I have a strep throat today and the Dr. gave me a Z-pack. My Aunt had a strep throat in the 30's and died. This book follows the development of the first antibiotics... the Sulfa drugs, by Gerhard Domagk and peers between WWI and WWII. Although, of greatest interest to history buffs and medical sorts, it really is an interesting read. It reminds me of "The Immortal Cells of Henrietta Lack" or "The Ghost Map" where the plot sounds dull... but you just can't put it down. The book is broad: you will be inside the trenches during WWI, in the laboratory killing mice, being bombed in WWII and in the states killing people with tonics and watching greedy decisions made in an attempt to put competing drug manufacturing companies out of business. The book travels all over... but always comes back to poor Gerhard who finally gets his Nobel Award. The reader is wonderful.

Saved by the Color Mauve

I listened to Erich Maria Remarque’s “All Quiet on the Western Front” (1958) last summer. Remarque’s book is a short and powerful listen, in great part because of his descriptions, by a 19 year old German soldier, of battlefield maiming and subsequent deaths that were caused primarily by a complete lack of antibiotics. More soldiers died of infection, rather than the wound itself.


Thomas Hager‘s “The Demon Under the Microscope” (2006) begins with a description of the same World War I horrors, from the point of view of a World War I German medic, Gerhard Domagk. Domagk, who was employed by Bayer AG as a researcher, did not discover sulfonamide (sulfa). Domagk discovered that Bayer coal-tar clothing dye, which contained sulfa, was an antibiotic. The difference between what happened to World War I soldiers (gas gangrene, amputating limbs to stop the spread of infection) and World War II soldiers, who in general had neither, as astounding. Ironically, the Allied Forces more readily adopted sulfa.


Domagk was awarded the 1939 Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine for his discovery and development, but Adolf Hitler prohibited Germans from accepting the prize. He was finally able to accept the prize in 1947, after a “Planes, Trains and Automobiles” jaunt through post-war Europe to get to the ceremony.


A terrible incident with sulfa is almost entirely responsible for the United States’ Federal Drug Administration (FDA). Sulfa tastes bad, and it doesn’t easily dissolve in water. An enterprising and unregulated drug compounder mixed it with the sweet tasting diethylene glycol, which is closely related to the anti-freeze ethylene glycol. The senate rapidly passed laws strengthening the FDA, resulting in today’s carefully controlled regulations.


“The Demon Under the Microscope” was remarkably lively for a science and technology book, and rivals Eric Lax‘ 2004 “The Mold in Dr. Florey‘s Coat” for its intrigue and rivalries.

As a history book, it was a bit hard to follow as it moved from World War I to earlier centuries, and then back up to the 20th century.

The narration seemed fine to me, although as a non-scientist, I don’t know if the narrator’s pronunciations were correct or not.

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I did not see this one coming.

I suspected this would be an interesting work, but was totally unprepared for how shockingly interesting it turned out to be. Having worked in the medical field, I knew of Sulfa only as the poorer cousin of penicillin, and wondered what might be so interesting about the story behind its discovery that would merit an entire book on the topic. Now I know. there are a great many lessons to be considered and internalized in this story. An outstanding work.

So, what's so good about antibiotics?!?

If you could sum up The Demon Under The Microscope in three words, what would they be?

Astounding must-read history!

What about Stephen Hoye’s performance did you like?

Almost sounded like he was the author! He was very engaged in the topic! His narration (and the content of the book) will suit scientists and laymen equally.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes! And I re-listened to many parts. Although I have studied this stuff in the past, it never hit me, till I listened to this audiobook, just how many, many, many people used to die from simple things that can happen to anyone any day. It helped me appreciate antibiotics as never before. I no longer take antibiotics for-granted.

Any additional comments?

I posted this on Facebook about an article that explained vaccines and why they are a good choice."If anyone wants/needs to understand why we do vaccinations compared to pre-vaccination history (and the thousands and tens of thousands of people who died EVERY year from things about which we, today, no longer need to worry,) read or listen to this very fascinating book. While its main topic is antibiotics, it explains why we need things like antibiotics and vaccines to cure/prevent diseases. I have a degree in biology and have read extensively in the field and about it. But this book taught me history I had never before known or appreciated. As a parent, grandparent, and responsible member of society, I was very happy to be so much better informed."

One of the best non-fiction books I've read

I read and listen to lots of non-fiction books. I have never written a review. I am compelled to write this one because this book did not seem to get as much attention as it, in my opinion, deserves. It combined my interests in science, history and biography really really well. I loved the desciptions of the science - what it takes to make a scientific breakthrough. I loved following the characters - from scientists, to doctors to politicians and their families. Discovery of first antibiotics played much more important role in the history of the 20th century than I imagined. Again, a great listen.