The Discovery of Insulin

by Michael Bliss

When insulin was discovered in the early 1920s, even jaded professionals marveled at how it brought starved, sometimes comatose diabetics back to life. In this now-classic study, Michael Bliss unearths a wealth of material, ranging from scientists& unpublished memoirs to the confidential appraisals of insulin by members of the Nobel Committee. He also resolves a longstanding controversy dating to the awarding of the Nobel to F. G. Banting and J. J. R. Macleod for their work on insulin: because each insisted on sharing the credit with an additional associate, medical opinion was intensely divided over the allotment of credit for the discovery. Bliss also offers a wealth of new detail on such subjects as the treatment of diabetes before insulin and the life-and-death struggle to manufacture it.
Bliss;s excellent account of the insulin story is a rare dissection of the anatomy of scientific discovery, and serves as a model of how rigorous historical method can correct the myths and legends sometimes perpetrated in the scientific literature.

Genres: Science, History, Medicine, Nonfiction, Health, Medical, Biology

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1982

About the author

Michael Bliss was a Canadian historian. He was an Officer of the Order of Canada, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, and a member of the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame.

Librarian’s note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Stefan Mitev · Rating 5 out of 5]

Оценка 5/5. Задължително трябва да се прочете от всеки студент по медицина и лекар.

През 2021 г. се отбелязват 100 години от откриването на инсулина. У нас се знае твърде малко за това ключово постижение на медицинската наука. Преди да прочета книгата знаех, че инсулинът е открит през двадесетте години в Торонто, Канада от хирурга Фредерик Бантинг и неговия асистент - студентът Чарлз Бест. Погрешно смятах, че и двамата печелят Нобелова награда. Всъщност тя е дадена през 1923 г., но само на Бантинг и Маклауд. Последният е канадският еквивалент на нашите медицински феодали. По време на ключовите експерименти Маклауд е в чужбина, не участва в тях, като "заслугата" му е, че направлява екипа и дава съвети за преодоляване на трудностите. Студентът Чарлз Бест и биохимикът Колип, създал метод за пречистване на екстракта от панкреас, остават пренебрегнати от Нобеловия комитет и не получават признанието, което заслужават.

Преди откриването на инсулина, захарният диабет (особено тип 1) е на практика смъртна присъда. Пациентите бързо се влошават и неизбежно изпадат в кетоацидоза и кома. Най-доброто "лечение" (ако може да се нарече така) преди откриването на инсулина е диетата на Алън. Тя на практика означава гладуване и прием на не повече от 500 калории на ден с избягване на въглехидрати. Пациентите обикновено се спасяват от кетоацидоза и кома, но стават ходещи скелети, които могат да се сравнят единствено със снимките след освобождаване на концлагери.

Откриването на инсулина е многостъпален процес, в който участват и учени от други страни. Румънецът Паулеско също създава екстракт от панкреас, който понижава кръвната захар и води до изчезване на глюкозурията, но не успява да го пречисти достатъчно за избягване на страничните ефекти (от примесите) при човешко приложение. Откриването на инсулина би било невъзможно в този момент без навлизането на нови методи за бързо и лесно измерване на кръвната захар. Хирургът Бантинг премахва панкреаса на огромен брой кучета, които веднага развиват диабет и след това ги инжектира с екстракт от отстранените органи. Прогресът е бавен и мъчителен. Проблеми и грешки възникват на почти всеки етап. Голям брой кучета умират от инфекция и усложнения след операциите. По това време антибиотиците все още не са били открити.

След като екипът от Торонто получава световно признание се случва нещо, което е твърде близо до нашата реалност. Започва борба за слава и признание. Всеки от екипа осъзнава, че е много вероятно откритието да получи Нобелова награда. В действие влизат професионални и политически връзки, медии, научни организации. След даването на наградата отношенията между основните откриватели рязко се влошават и всеки говори против останалите в своите мемоари, като изтъква собствените си приноси.

"Откриването на инсулина" е задължителна книга в много западни медицински университети. У нас дори не е преведена и вероятно никога няма да бъде. Първото издание е от осемдесетте години, а сега е преиздадена в чест на стоте години от откритието. Публична тайна е, че у нас не е престижно да се чете, дори в медицинската сфера. Често теоретично сме неподготвени и разчитаме на собствения опит. Затова и резултатите ни са лоши.

Прочетете книгата, която е написана на достъпен език и за хора извън медицината.

[Iman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been born into a world that had insulin, and I thought that it had been decades since its discovery. I wouldn’t have known that this amazing medicine has only been discovered 100 years ago in 1921 until I read this book!

The fact that people has been dying from diabetes only 100 years ago is shocking! A simple medication, that we doctors prescribe so effortlessly, has been a precious discovery and a hope to millions of diabetics only one century ago. A diagnosis of T1DM for a child at that time was a death sentence!

I stumbled into this book in Amazon as I was searching for a medical book, and I am so grateful that I came to read such a well-written book about the story behind insulin.
It’s a book that gives us hope that one day a deadly disease can be cured. It’s a book that reveals the inside world of medicine and research; the uncertainties, the conflicts, the disappointments and the challenges that, if some one is lucky, might result in a miraculous rewarding discovery. It’s a book that shows how medicine has evolved and is evolving in a marvelously fast pace!

This is one of the books that when I finished, I had to have a break from reading any other book just to take it all in. The writer made me feel like I have been living in that time, and I don’t think I would ever enjoy a non-fiction book as I enjoyed reading this one!

[jrendocrine at least reading is good · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read it in the 90's (last century children!) and literally it made me weep. Amazing book.

I used to give this to my fellows: this is why you are an endocrinologist! Hmm, I think they didn't read it, so I stopped giving it to them.

[Allyson Dyar · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The Discovery of Insulin" by Michael Bliss has to be considered the definitive word on the trials and tribulations on how insulin was discovered.

I'd say, even this day, if you ask most folks who won the Nobel prize for the discovery of insulin, I believe that the most common answer still is Banting and Best, not Banting and Mccleod. Never mind even knowing who Collip was.

The book edition I read was the 2007 updating of "The Discovery of Insulin" where Dr Bliss not only answers his first edition critics, but also expands and discusses ever so briefly what's new in diabetes research.

I wouldn't categorize this book as an "easy" read, but it is a highly fascinating account of the ideas behind insulin research and just how devastating the disease was before the discovery of insulin.

Given the fist fights, decent, misunderstandings, glory-hogging, research mistakes, and just plain meanness of some of the participants, it amazes me that the discovery was even made, but it was, and I, for one, as a diabetic, am glad for it.

Consider "Bittersweet" by Chris Feudtner as a companion volume, concentrating as much on the discovery of insulin as much as the patients and other participants.

I wouldn't categorize this book as an 'easy' read, but it is an unflinching historical narrative of dreams, results and life.

[Sarah Armstrong · Rating 4 out of 5]

To be written ..

[Santiago Ortiz · Rating 4 out of 5]

By most conventional standards it's a 5 stars book, not doubt. I downgraded to 4 for the way it overlooks the animal issue. Lots of dogs and other animals were killed in the research, many through great suffering. And yes I consider them part of the team that contributed, albeit in a very different way (but certainly with the skin in the game), to the discovery of the insulin. These concerns are barely brought in the book, and only in a dismissive way, when mentioning the "anti-vivisectionists". As a diabetic I'm grateful to those animals. And I also believe that in the case of this treatment, that saved some many lives, and so quickly after its discovery, the use of animals in the research was justified aplenty (lots of animal lives are also being saved thanks to insulin!). But I think the book should have treated this serious matter with more attention, acknowledgement and gratitude to these other unsung heroes.

[Edward Qiao · Rating 4 out of 5]

book's an absolute riot

probably won't be for anyone not in medical/biochem related fields - the author meanders a little bit much on scientific detail for the layperson

that said, the characters involved in this story are just so outlandishly ridiculous that it's hard to believe they're responsible for one of the greatest medical advances in human history

fred banting is an absolute maniac and inspiration to medical students with imposter syndrome everywhere - alcoholic with no research experience and a nasty personality and still stumbled assbackwards into the biggest medical research one-hit-wonder of all time

[Vanessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well-written and fascinating to read - Bliss manages to make the long account of lab work by Banting and Best into a page turner, a feat in and of itself, but his book also does a great job of showcasing the horror of pre-insulin diabetes, the magnitude of insulin's impact on treatment of the disease, and the sometimes sloppy process by which this discovery (and I'm sure many other great ones) was made.

[Asma · Rating 5 out of 5]

At first glance, insulin discovery discovery is the perfect fairy tale story. A simple young country doctor who's scarred by the war is inspired in the middle of the night to set on his quest to discovering insulin. His simple background and average results certainly fit layman's picture of a brilliant transformation. We are all suckers for drama, writers most of all. That's where I compliment Michael Bliss's unbiased account of such -now I know, greatly paradoxical- story. Surprising and eye opening -literally, I kept ooh-ing and aah-ing as I read it- and definitely amusing with all the fuels between the dashing temperate Banting and the put-together cool-some macloed. Specially Banting's account of the story, funny indeed.

As we all know, life is not that simple, or pretty for that matter. I always regarded Banting as a personal hero. His stroke of genius saved the lives of many. I still do, but now I know about his other humanly traits, his insecurities and in my opinion,somewhat justifiable, paranoia, his diminished social skills and lack of articulacy makes his story all the more malleable. This was no overnight strike of thunder. it was the "culmination" of other works and a "stumble" in the right direction fueled by Banting's faith and motivation. I'm shocked by his and Best's and how they persisted through such unwelcome results. Their inexperience not slowing them down, neither did Macleod's discouragements-who I think is over-credited by sharing the Nobel prize for his guidance which should've been more severe, but admittedly, harshly judged by Banting, but what do I know? But i sure love Bliss's impartial metaphors in this book as he described the dynamics of this troublesome group of researchers. JB Collip did refine insulin to a clinically usable form, but did he deserve as much credit as Banting did, when the Nobel prize was quartered? Best, it seems, was injured the most throughout this tug of war and complained only once. Banting may have been ignored initially which fueled his hatred for macloed, but then got his share of glory all right, a knighthood bestowed upon him, a WWD held annually in his birthday in his honor, so He got what was rightfully his.

Patients' stories were the most inspiring of all. Elizabeth Evans Hughes who weighed less than 50 pounds before insulin at age 14, her cheerful optimistic demeanor sure was something to be marveled at. James Havens, Leonard Thompson and others,emaciated, all went through hell with the first rough patches and pulled through. They all had one thing in common, a mutual enemy. This gives off a sense of solidarity throughout history til this very day, i know that might sound silly but at least thats what I felt when I read their stories.

The last chapter was a collection of whatever-happened-tos that left no knots untied and left me with no questions about any of the parties related to the discovery of insulin. Which reinforces my initial perception of Bliss as a masterful story teller who's background as a historian makes him an objective judge of events as he dissected this case of who did what and put this issue to rest once and for all. I swear at the middle of this book something I never thought I'd experience with a non-fiction, I kept thumping threw it and thrilled to to know the outcome of this story. So would you.

[Farnz · Rating 4 out of 5]

The discovery of insulin by michael bliss: 4.5 ⭐️

“The death rate among those trying to write about the discovery of insulin sometimes seems higher than it is among diabetics” (15) oof

First, a special thanks to my university professor! He mentioned this book in our metabolism class and was kind enough to lend it to me. The book was a signed copy, gifted to him by the author, cause he had helped in editing the manuscript😍 How amazing is that!

This non-fiction book covers the discovery of insulin and the many controversies, deaths, and dramas that followed. The four creators (Banting, Best, Macleod, and Collip) were tied in a battle for proper credit on their work. It seems like a lot of it was initiated by Dr. Banting and while it was immature (and paranoid at times) of him I feel like the author was also too harsh. “Shark joins war on diabetes” (186) literally shows how intense it was for everyone to have the credit for beating diabetes, a disease (previous to insulin) that did great damage to patients and often caused a painful and quick death. While it doesn’t make it right, Banting was experiencing the immense stress of academia and research for the first time. I love the research process, it’s fun and challenging. But there is a constant fights for who did it first, who gets ownership (or becomes first author). Not to mention the drawer of null results, which are seen as “useless”. There is a constant need to discover something/publish something, a process that is incredibly rigorous and difficult.

I was surprised to learn about how immense Dr. Collip’s contribution was! I previously had no idea, text books often don’t delve into the purification process of insulin and how important it was in minimizing any toxic side effects. Sweet that McLeod’s replacement as professor of physiology at UofT ended up being Best! Super impressed by him and Collip. I’m not surprised that this competition caused a rift between Macleod and Banting, but I’m surprised that Banting and Collip got along at the end after all their fights. Ps, the author said that Dr. Best was the most handsome, so I would like to disagree and say it was Dr. Collip 😂

“Their struggle for credit was fired by each man’s desire to have his place in history, to have the only kind of immortality open to us. But perhaps the group at Toronto misjudged both their situation and posterity’s viewpoint. They did not realize that those who understood the history would eventually come to honour them all. Above all, we would honour their achievements”(248)

[Mobius Scutav · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well, I read the original article by Nicolae Paulescu and I can say with certainty that he is the discoverer of insulin. I do not know how many actually bothered to compare the articles of Paulescu and Banting's ... but I did it. Not to mention the date of publication of the two articles. Thus, it is a fully European discovery. I have spoken with many people (in the field of diabetology), and all of them consider that 1) Paulescu and 2) Collip should have been awarded the Nobel (or Paulescu alone). Because of this colossal error the Nobel awards are no longer given so rapidly. As a canadian, M. Bliss is obliged to support the imposters (Banting and Best) and to deflect the scandal inside the canadian team. Michael Bliss must not distort the history of medicine. Those who do not believe me, can read the article by Paulescu, which has been published prior to that of the canadians. The most interesting thing is that Banting and Best cite the work of Paulescu, now how hilarious is this situation ?!

[Mobius Scutav · Rating 1 out of 5]

Although I've said this before, I'll say it again. I read the original article by Nicolae Paulescu and I can say with certainty that he is the discoverer of insulin. I do not know how many actually bothered to compare the articles of Paulescu and Banting's ... but I did it. Not to mention the date of publication of the two articles. Thus, it is a fully European discovery. I have spoken with many people (in the field of diabetology), and all of them consider that 1) Paulescu and 2) Collip should have been awarded the Nobel (or Paulescu alone). Because of this colossal error the Nobel awards are no longer given so rapidly. As a canadian, M. Bliss is obliged to support the imposters (Banting and Best) and to deflect the scandal inside the canadian team. Michael Bliss must not distort the history of medicine. Those who do not believe me, can read the article by Paulescu, which has been published prior to that of the canadians. The most interesting thing is that Banting and Best cite the work of Paulescu, now how hilarious is this situation ?!

[Angie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I should have written this review a while ago, but I didn't, and the review will suffer for it. I don't think my fascination with this book is completely related to my son's having diabetes. Maybe I'm fooling myself. It's simply amazing how the discovery of insulin came about; simply amazing that it came about at all, given how this story played out. It was the most exciting nonfiction book I've read in quite some time.

[Elizabeth S · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not sure if this is the same book I read years ago, about how insulin was discovered and first used to help diabetics. The book I read was very interesting and informative, walking you through the process of discovery and figuring out how to make it usable. It explains how they decided defined a "unit" of insulin, for example. Very readable.

[bjn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating true story describing the political maneuverings surrounding the search for a magic bullet to cure diabetes. Scientifically interesting in and of itself, but the infighting and intrigue add a dimension just as compelling as any work of fiction.

[Juliann · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is a must read for anyone who has a child with diabetes or is diabetic. It goes through the history of diabetes and also explains how insulin was discovered. Fascinating read!

[Erika · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book for a project at work in 2006 and totally forgot about it until I found a review online. Absolutely loved it.

[Theresa Kulenkamp · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gets mired down in details. Can tell a more compelling story by leaving those items for the footnotes.

[Shadira · Rating 5 out of 5]

For a diabetes physician, Bliss's classic book is like “The Creation.” The Discovery of Insulin is the true tale of the medical and scientific detective work and intrigue that led to what is arguably one of the greatest achievements of the 20th century. But because it was not a cure, it was also one of the century's premier disappointments.



he story reads like one of Berton Rouche's medical detective tales or a Michael Crichton science fiction novel.

Imagine the following absurd scenario for a research proposal. A young surgeon with no bench research experience has his curiosity piqued by a casual journal article. He goes to his former professor of physiology at an obscure medical school and asks for some space and supplies to attempt to isolate the internal secretion of the pancreas—a task which researchers over the world (with one exception) had failed to achieve for half a century. The professor, leaving for his summer holiday, reluctantly gives his permission plus the assistance of an untried medical student. A late addition to the “team” is a biochemist to help purify “the stuff.”

In the course of that summer this unlikely team achieve the impossible: they isolate the active secretion of the pancreas, and the rest, as they say, is history. But not so fast. When the Nobel Prize is handed out in 1923, it is only the absent professor (Macleod) and the surgeon (Frederick Banting) who are honoured. They, with some degree of rancour, announce that they will each share their portion of the prize with someone else. Banting gives a share to the medical student, Charles Best, while Macleod shares his with the biochemist, Collip.

Banting and Best, in their first paper on the experiment, incorrectly and perhaps deliberately implied that a Romanian investigator (Paulesco) had negative results with a similar experiment, thus dooming him to oblivion.

Do you like history? Do you love intrigue and mystery? How about a good read? The Discovery of Insulin, is a memorable read by a first rate author and historian.

[Kyla Radke · Rating 4 out of 5]

I want to commemorate Bliss for his efforts writing this account. He’s not a scientist by trade and likely studied the sciency concepts extensively in order to relay them accurately, as well as the deep and thoughtful research into the personal/historical accounts of the primary researchers involved, doing his best to give an unbiased description of the events that occurred.
There’s a lot of drama that goes down in research/academia circles to this day. It’s a vicious fight for credit, promotions, awards, patents, grants, etc. Insulin was an incredible discovery but unfortunately there was and maybe still is a lot of confusion about who the first discoverer was and who should get credit for what.
Some incredible photos are featured in the book of the scientists and first patients to be treated with insulin, which were fun to look at as they are old photos from the 1920’s.
If you read this book, feel free to skim some of the more dense and repetitive sections detailing the experiments as they may be lengthy and boring, and instead focus on the main ideas of the book.

[Amelia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book - it is now one of my all time favorites! I originally picked it up to fill in the gaps surrounding a history that's close to my heart. I was not expecting such a beautiful written and extremely well researched work of art. I *technically* knew how this book would end but it was completely engaging, up to the very last page. I also don't think any other book I've read made laugh as much as this one did. Highly recommend!

[Felix · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was recommended to me by a nutrition book
I was reading. The section I was reading was on
the effect of insulin resistance and the corresponding
health problems that develops because of it. The
book recommended reading the book "The Discovery Of Insulin"
by Michael Bliss and I was able to borrow it from the
local library.

The book is a very interesting read on how insulin came
about. You can think of the book as being made up of
3 parts. The first part is a detailed exposition of
countless experiments by Banting and Best on dog pancreas
(from 1921 to 1922)to find out if they can discover
the "internal secretion" in the pancreas that can lower
blood sugar and help with diabetes treatment for humans.

In this part of the book, you really have to have patience
because it is mainly an exhaustive explanation and
examination of countless experiments performed on dogs.
(Being a pet owner myself, I was aghast at the dog
experiments which resulted in the death of hundreds of dogs).

The second part is more interesting as the "internal
secretion" is extracted and then used successfully
in the treatment of diabetes. The second part reads like
a fairy tale as thousands of people from all walks of
life suffering from diabetes were suddenly "cured" using
the extract that was then being called isletin and later
on as insulin. In those days the usual treatment for diabetes
was the starvation diet developed by a diabetologist with
the name of Dr. Allen and it usually resulted in the person
being kept alive but half-dead because of malnutrition.
The book refers to these people as resembling victims of
concentration camps or famine. And it was amazing how
insulin was able to transform these people from walking
skeletons into normal human beings in a short period
of time.

The third part of the book deals with the question on who
should get credit for the discovery of insulin? Apparently
while Banting and Best did the experiments, several other
people also assisted. There was MacCleod who allowed his
laboratory to be used for the experiments and who gave
useful directions to Banting and Best and pointed them out
in the right direction. There was also Collip a biochemist
who was the first to develop a method to purify insulin so that
it can be tested on humans. And other personalities related
to patents and mass production of insulin.

The most interesting part in this section of the book was
the animosity among the members of the team, with Banting
and Best banding together vs. MacCleod and Collip which was
exacerbated by the awarding of the Nobel prize (in 1923)
only to Banting and MacCleod.

In closing, I like the way the author ended his book. That
the various personalities involved in the discovery of
insulin wanted to immortalize their place in history, but
really humanity is just grateful that they were successful with
discovering insulin.


The author closes with the following: "But perhaps the
group in Toronto misjudged both their situation and posterity's
viewpoint. They did not realize that those who understood history
would eventually come to honor them all. Above all, we
should honor their achievement". Well said! :-)

[Maya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Considering that Bliss is neither an expert or a diabetic, I feel that he understood and conveyed the process, the implications, and the shortcomings of the discovery. And although perhaps a little less detail would have sufficed, I would still recommend this book.

This book tells the fascinating and heart-wrenching story of the Nobel Prize winning discovery that is still responsible for keeping millions of people alive today. The author goes into much detail in telling the story, and at times it seems that perhaps he provides too much detail. But he does this, because he strives to present all available information to be able to discuss the allocation of credit, which has been much disputed by the inventors themselves, their acquaintances who took sides, and those who wished they could have been the discoverers.

Initially the story seems simple: Banting, the doctor ignorant to endocrinology has an idea. Macleod, the competent researcher at the University of Toronto is hesitant, recognizing Banting's ignorance, but eventually is convinced to provide some support for Banting, including a student as a research assistant, Best. At a later stage joins Collip, the visiting chemist, to help with the purification of the extract. Each sees their contributions to the discovery in a different light than the others would agree to, and this causes much competition and enmity. As a scientist myself, I understand the desire for recognition for one's work. But as a diabetic, it was heartbreaking to read about the amount of time and energy wasted on disagreements and competition within the group while diabetics were dying.

The book also talks about the initial reception, the first patients who were given insulin, the patenting process, the initial collaboration between Lilly and the Toronto group to mass produce insulin, and how insulin spread across North America and Europe.

Bliss also paid great attention to the before and after periods. He starts the book by talking about "treatments" before insulin, and ends it by highlighting more recent advances. He had insightful comments about what insulin meant. I also really appreciated that he recognized the shortcomings of diabetes treatment even today, that although with insulin "diabetes became a matter of the quality of life, not the speed of death", that quality is still lower that we would like.

[Judith Hale Everett · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the style of The Double Helix, this is a fascinating group portrait of all the key players in the discovery of the miracle cure to what was until 1922 a death sentence. And, like the Double Helix, it shows how terrifyingly accidental and arbitrary these world changing discoveries often are! The science is interesting, the politics are sobering, but the stories of people being almost literally raised from the dead are by far the most compelling part of this book (chapters 5-6). If you know or care for someone with diabetes (and even if you don’t) this book will make you so much more grateful that you and they were born on this end of the twentieth century.

[Karin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since Diabetes runs in my family, I've heard a number of stories about how difficult the treatment used to be, for my grandmother in particular. It was through that lens that I absorbed all of the information about pre-insulin treatments, thinking of how lucky Grandma was to not be subjected to starvation diets or other torturous attempts to control the disease. What an awful existence for those patients.
I was fascinated by the timeline associated with the discovery, how so many people around the world were conducting experiments and getting ever closer to the insulin treatment. It's too bad that there was so much controversy over credit, and it's nice to see that history hasn't completely passed these people by, even if the lines between who did what are rather blurred. But at the end of the day I was just left thinking how wonderful it is that the treatment was developed. I don't care who did what, but that my grandmother's life was extended because of it, and that now my father's life is being extended because of it.
Well researched, well written, full of drama, and a stranger tale than you'd think.

[Bruce · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book details the medical breakhrough of insulin's discovery in Toronto in 1921-22. The author profiles the primary researchers and lab heads, as well as early patients, physicians, and pharma partners who were involved in this miraculous medical development. The isolation and commercialization of insulin revolutionized the treatment of diabetes and saved and improved millions of lives.

The author does a meticulous job of compiling lab records, diaries, patient histories, and even conversations decades later with people close to the discovery. Unfortunately, he wastes a lot of pages on the jealousies and resentments among various members of the inner circle that developed the medicine, and in particular on the hurt feelings over which member(s) of the team will be awarded the Nobel Prize. This was only of nominal interest and detracted from what was otherwise a well-compiled book. I would rather have those pages filled up with telling the story of how insulin came to be mass-produced, improved, and ultimately synhesized over the subsequent decades, which is only breezed over at the end of the book.

[Lweeze · Rating 5 out of 5]

highly recommended for all audiences.

this book is easily accessible to people without a background in science (my last contact with the sciences was in high school). though bliss spares little detail about the methods and practices that went into the discovery of insulin, this is far from a dry history/science read. the way he writes it, it's less about the scientific processes than it is about the very human relationships between the scientists. mistakes were made; important decisions were made based on whim and chance; egos and tempers clashed often and explosively. bliss's language is clear and precise, while also laced with well-timed humor. the result is a book about an amazing scientific discovery that reads like something aaron sorkin would direct.

it puts paid to the idea of science as a cold, unfeeling field of study devoid of human emotion. the very best scientific discoveries can come out of the messiest of human relations.

[John Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

A masterfull book that reads almost like a novel. Researching and
writing after the death of the protagonists and with the availability of
their papers, historian Michael Bliss of the University of Toronto
traces the story of the discovery of inulin, its purification, and
administration to patients in the period from 1921 to 1923 by Frederick
Banting, Charles Best, JJH Macleod and Bertram Collip. Theirs was a
stormy partnership but when you finish reading you will understand the
role each played and why Banting and Macleod won the Nobel Prize. The
rapid transition to a medical product and the miracle effects on
previously starved patients is also quite interesting. This book should
be read by every physician and researcher and is very accessible to a general reader.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite Interesting, although a little bit tedious at times. But what can be expected of a book about the discovery of insulin. I do have to say I enjoyed learning where "units" came from...those poor rabbits and all of the dogs they went through, amazing to think that it took all that to get what we finally have today.

[Brooke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Being dependent on insulin for life and all, I found this book pretty interesting. For me, it was a good mix of science and human interest. I walk away from the text with an increased gratitude for all that went in to bringing insulin (and diabetics) to life.