A well-told and intriguing story with surprising twists and turns.
The extraordinary history of the little white pill found in just about everyone’s medicine cabinet.
Justifiably labeling aspirin a wonder drug, British journalist Jeffreys (The Bureau: Inside the Modern FBI, 1995) reminds us that its history dates back to around 3000 b.c., when the ancient Egyptians recorded the medicine value of willow, a source of salicylates. Germany’s Bayer Company developed acetylsalicylic acid and gave it the brand name Aspirin in the 19th century, but Bayer’s assets were seized by the US during WWI. Jeffreys sorts out the complicated story of the company’s subsequent struggle to regain its markets and protect its patents and trademark around the world. Taking a “for the want of a nail” approach, the author attributes to aspirin a significant role in the rise of Nazi Germany, asserting that if the drug had not made Bayer such a strong company, it would not have been able to consolidate German chemical firms into the giant cartel IG Farben, major financial backer of the Nazi party. Competition from other makers of aspirin and from Anacin and Bufferin (painkillers containing aspirin) first challenged Bayer’s supremacy; the later introductions of acetaminophen and ibuprofen further divided the analgesic market. Aspirin seemed to have reached the end of its glory days, but the pill got a surprising new lease on life in the 1980s, when research revealed its ability to inhibit platelets in the blood from clotting, which reduced the risk of heart attacks and strokes. Jeffreys also looks at studies suggesting that aspirin may be effective in preventing many forms of cancer, reducing the risk of Alzheimer’s and ameliorating less serious conditions such as migraines and periodontal disease. Some 26,000 scientific papers have already been published, and 2,000 aspirin research projects are in the works: who knows what new uses may next be uncovered?
A well-told and intriguing story with surprising twists and turns.Pub Date: Sept. 21, 2004
ISBN: 1-58234-386-1
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2004
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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