Gerald MC. The Drug Book: From Arsenic to Xanax, 250 Milestones in the History of Drugs. New York: Sterling Publishers; 2013, 528pp, $29.95 (hardcover), ISBN 9781402782640.

Bernie R. Olin

doi:10.5688/ajpe785109

As the title indicates, this book describes what the author believes are the 250 milestones in the history of drugs. As stated in the introduction, the author’s goal in writing the book was “to inform and entertain general readers who are interested in drugs, the biomedical sciences, or scientific history, in addition to providing new and novel information on a wide range of drugs to scientists, doctors, and scholars.” Dr. Gerald certainly succeeded. At first blush, this is a history book of drugs, drug therapy, and drug regulation. However, the author clarifies that drugs “also encompass poisons, drugs of abuse, recreational substances and those chemical that are intended to improve the quality of our lives.” The book is intended to be “jargon-free” in so much as it is possible with such a subject.

The book is beautifully done. There are 253 monographs, arranged chronologically, each 2 pages in length, 1 page of text on the left and a page with a full-color picture related to the topic on the right. Some of the pictures and captions are themselves informational and entertaining, while others seem a bit tangential. If the page size was larger, it would be a wonderful coffee table book.

Of the 253 monographs, 231 are on drugs (some monographs cover more than one drug or an entire class of drugs), while 18 cover drug-related topics such as United States drug regulation, related drug discoveries (eg, drug receptors), and a few popular topics (eg, Off-label prescribing, direct-to-consumer advertising). The last 5 monographs project 5 years into the future, speculating about milestones yet to be accomplished. The majority of the drug monographs are titled with the trade name of the drug, while some use the generic drug name. This inconsistency is not explained, but it is assumed that it was done for drug name recognition by a general audience. The author has cross-referenced the monographs, which is beneficial particularly since he has occasionally covered the same drug in different forms, eg, coca, cocaine, crack cocaine; tea, coffee, caffeine). There is also a “further reading” list that does not represent a full bibliography. It should also be pointed out that Wikipedia encyclopedia was cited as a general resource. There is also a complete index for drug names, people mentioned, etc, though not comprehensive for every term.

Perhaps the greatest strength of The Drug Book is that the monographs are infused with historical tidbits surrounding the drug’s use and/or development, often including historical figures and providing a context for why this particular drug is a milestone in the annals of drug history. These include John Kennedy/Percorten, Dwight Eisenhower/warfarin, Sigmund Freud/cocaine, and Winston Churchill/sulfanilamide. Also included in the book are many descriptions of the origins of drug names (eg, Glucophage means “glucose eater”) and disease names (Lupus was so named because the facial lesions resembled a wolf’s bite). This makes this book entertaining to a wide variety of audiences.

The choices of the 250 milestones are, of course, subject to opinion and the author acknowledges this. There are a variety of additions this reviewer would have made to this book, while some of the milestones included would not have made the list. However, in the larger picture, it is a fair representation.

By its design, information on each drug or event is limited to 1 page; hence, most information is not covered in depth. There were a number of monographs that could have been improved by the addition of some major events (eg, the monograph on acetaminophen/paracetamol gave more space to the intentional cyanide contamination event in 1982 than to its potential to cause liver toxicity in overdose). Also, it sometimes seemed that more effort was given to describing a drug’s limitations and toxicities than its ground-breaking impact.

The Drug Book is an artful blend of history and drug discovery. It should have a wide appeal, both for the chronologically gifted among us who enjoy a traverse along memory lane and may want to compare opinions (at least for the latter part of the 20th century), and for younger members of the health care team who are interested in how we got here. There are many tidbits of information that will add context and interest to any discussion or presentation on drugs.