The Remedy

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

By: Thomas Goetz

Narrated by: Donald Corren

Length: 9 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

©2014 Thomas Goetz (P)2014 Recorded Books

Love the Scientific Process?

The German scientist and the British author cross paths in Berlin -- and thus the premise of the book is born. The premise is rather thin, but the interesting biographies of these two men make up for the author's small sleight of hand to draw us in. We learn of the brilliance and flaws of both men, but most of all about the growing stature of science in society. Everyone who loves reason and logic and the scientific process will revel in this as a coming of age story for all we hold dear. Society's slow embrace of microbiotics and germ theory against the near hysterical love of the Sherlock Holmes character with his use of logic.
The book is rich with facts -- and for this reason not for the squeamish -- because life before modern hygiene was not pretty.
I must warn my feminist sisters that there are no remarkable women in this book -- doting mothers, sacrificing wives, distracting mistresses abound. Female social reformers are seen as misguided or downright obstructionist. Even the nod to Florence Nightingale is somewhat backhanded -- "accidental" right actions for the wrong reasons.

Fascinating story about evolution of science

This was a fascinating story about the evolution of science, it's acceptance in popular culture and the connection it had with the author of Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The performance was pretty good, especially at 1.25x. The story flowed well and was easy to follow. I felt it relevant to today's current medical studies and important as a historical background to understand how, just over 100 years ago, our understanding of disease and medicine was so limited.

Excellent

This is an excellent book call mom really opened my eyes to the importance of all the medical discoveries

Great detective story, well written and well read

A delightful "read" and delightful listen. Highly recommended for lovers of true mysteries that lasted decades with great human consequence.

I've read a fair but modest amount about the history of medical science, as a fan both of medicine and of science in general. This book went one layer deeper than the usual histories, telling the story of one particular hunt to find and stop the killer tuberculosis. I was surprised and pleased at how the characters came alive - something I'm not accustomed to in medical histories - especially Koch's humble beginnings and dogged pursuit of unknowns starting with the most meager tools. Though today Koch's Postulates are known to be incomplete, their development was a big step forward in medicine's clumsy advances in the 1800s.

I imagine this might be, like "Microbe Hunters," an intriguing and inspiring book for young minds considering a career in science, posing questions like "What would you DO if you were seeking to understand something nobody understands? How do you think out an experiment to test your ideas? What does it take?" all ending with the joy of discovery and improving the human condition. What a good use of a human mind, eh?

Interesting

Very interesting subject matter. The interrelationships between many of the scientists of that age make for an interesting study. However, this book is a little fragmented and often repetitive. Some of the other historical medical novels I've read are much better reads.

The Curious Case of the Surgical Supernumerary

I'll start by saying I found several parts of this book quite fascinating. Goetz portrays a vivid picture of the development of the science of medicine in the latter half of the 19th century, especially with regards to the "germ theory". He does this both the perspective of the strictly technical, as well as from a Kuhnian "scientific revolution". The rivalry, often petty, between Koch and Pasteur is also fascinating.

What I have a hard time understanding is why Doyle features so prominently in the discussion. His association with Koch was tangential at best. He tried - and failed - to attend a pivotal lecture given by Koch. To his credit, he wrote a noteworthy account for the Lancet from the notes of someone who *had* attended. That's about it. One could have just as readily included Doc Holliday instead.

Germ Theory = Global Warming of Its Day

The connection between Conan Doyle and Robert Koch is pretty tentative, but this is much more than a limited dual biography.

It's a history of science with respect to germ theory. For nearly fifty years I've actively wondered why Semmelweis (the guy who suggested that doctors wash their hand(s) before doing a pelvic exam on a woman about to give birth) was ignored (and died in obscurity) while Pasteur - with essentially the same insight - is still an international hero. In other words, why couldn't Semmelweis promote his discovery and Pasteur could promote his, when they were both variations on Germ Theory.

This book explains with convincing detail how and why Germ Theory was an exceedingly difficult scientific "truth" to "sell," rather like the Global Warming of its day.

Interesting but not totally connected

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I very much enjoyed this book. It provides a great deal of historical background to events surrounding the scientific emergence of germ theory.

Were the concepts of this book easy to follow, or were they too technical?

The book is an easy listen but the interconnection between Koch and Conan Doyle is not as connected as I would have expected. The book is more like reading two books who have common characters and some intertwining plot characteristics.

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

The emotion of the times is probably more evident in the audio book than the text.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

No. I loved the book but the two stories don't hang together well enough for film.

Any additional comments?

The book is worth reading and the material is very interesting. I happen to be a huge Conan Doyle fan and while the background on his life was fascinating, the interconnection with Koch was cursory.

wanders a bit but worth it

Rather loses focus in the first third of the book but picks up steam and drives straight head for the rest. Certainly worth the time.

A Historical Book of Medicine.

the first 5 chapters were bang your head against the wall boring. But by Chapter 6 it finally began to appeal to my ear.