Dangerous Miracle: A natural history of antibiotics – and how we burned through them

by Liam Shaw

‘A riveting book … In combining the passion of Robert Macfarlane with the incisiveness of Patrick Radden Keefe, Shaw has announced himself as a brilliant new voice in science writing’ RACHEL CLARKE, SPECTATOR

**A SUNDAY TIMES BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR 2025**

Antibiotics are one of humanity’s greatest achievements but our access to them is under threat. Discover their miraculous history – and how we confront their uncertain future.

Since their advent, antibiotics have saved millions of lives, marking one of the greatest medical advances in our history. Dangerous Miracle weaves together the grand arc of the evolution of antibiotics over millions of years with a history of the past first as we mined the earth for naturally occurring antibiotic molecules, then as we learned to synthesise our own.

But like fossil fuels, antibiotics are a finite resource which we’ve regarded as a cheap, everlasting fuel. They are unlike other every time we use them we increase the possibility of antibiotic resistance emerging, risking their future effectiveness. If we want antibiotics to have a future, we need to prepare to adapt. And fast.

‘Excellent’ HENRY MARSH

‘Brilliant’ TIM SPECTOR

‘Fascinating’ SARAH GILBERT

‘Eye-opening and thrilling’ MATTHEW COBB

‘Absolutely essential’ KATE BINGHAM

Genres: Audiobook, Nonfiction

334 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 21, 2025

Reviews

[Debby Binns · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to this on BBC Sounds. It was very enlightening but at many points I found it quite challenging as both the terminology and some of the scientific information was difficult.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dangerous Miracle tackles an important and timely subject: how antibiotics resistance has become a global health threat. Your body doesn’t develop antibiotic resistance — bacteria do. When antibiotic resistance happens, fewer antibiotics are effective against a particular bacterium. The book is deeply researched and clearly written by someone with strong scientific expertise, offering a detailed historical and biological account of antibiotics, resistance, and the systems that shaped both.

However, despite the strength of its subject matter, the reading experience can feel challenging. The book is often long-winded and highly technical, with dense explanations and frequent use of medical and microbiological terms that are not always clearly explained. For readers without a strong background in medicine or the life sciences, this can make the book confusing and at times overwhelming, even when the underlying ideas are compelling.

I DNFed around 50%. But if there's anything I want you to takeaway from my review, it's that with awareness perhaps we can do our part to slow antibiotic resistance.

We slow antibiotic resistance by:
Only using antibiotics when we really need them
Finishing the full course when prescribed
Not using antibiotics for colds or flu (those are viruses but I'm sure your doctor will know that)

[Ian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an interesting and thorough review of the history of antibiotics/antimicrobial drugs.

I heard an excerpt on BBC Radio 4 and thought it sounded interesting but I was a little disappointed - through no fault of the author - that I already knew quite a lot of the content from my previous reading, attendance at conferences etc.

I also hoped that there would be more about the prospect of using 'phage therapy for multi-resistant infections and the medical consensus view on whether the use of these viruses might avoid the development of drug-resistance. Unfortunately this topic was only briefly touched on.

[Mark Gibbons · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very enlightening book which although a little challenging to read at times due to the terminology is well worth the effort. Recommended.

[Rachel Wen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting and well written. A bit repetitive when wrapping up each chapter and I think it could have used some more anecdotes, but overall the book flows well.