What do you think?
Rate this book
Insulin - The Crooked Timber: A History from Thick Brown Muck to Wall Street Gold
Before the discovery of insulin, a diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes was a death sentence. One hundred years after a milestone medical discovery, 'Insulin - The Crooked Timber' tells the story of how insulin was transformed from what one clinician called 'thick brown muck' into the very first drug to be produced using genetic engineering, one which would earn the founders of the US biotech company Genentech a small fortune.
Yet when Canadian doctor Frederick Banting was told in 1923 that he had won the Nobel Prize for this life-saving discovery, he was furious. For the prize had not been awarded to him alone - but jointly with a man whom he felt had no right to this honour. The human story behind this discovery is one of ongoing political and scientific controversy.
Taking the reader on a fascinating journey, starting with the discovery of insulin in the 1920s through to the present day, 'Insulin - The Crooked Timber' reveals a story of monstrous egos, toxic career rivalries, and a few unsung heroes such as two little known scientists whose work on wool fibres, carried out in a fume-filled former stable, not only proved to be crucial in unravelling the puzzle of insulin but ushered in a revolution in biology.
It was the author's own shocking diagnosis with Type 1 diabetes that prompted him to sit down and write this book, but this story has lessons for us all about what technology can - and more importantly cannot - do for us. As the world pins its hopes on effective and lasting vaccines against Covid-19, these lessons from the story of insulin have never been more relevant.
Yet when Canadian doctor Frederick Banting was told in 1923 that he had won the Nobel Prize for this life-saving discovery, he was furious. For the prize had not been awarded to him alone - but jointly with a man whom he felt had no right to this honour. The human story behind this discovery is one of ongoing political and scientific controversy.
Taking the reader on a fascinating journey, starting with the discovery of insulin in the 1920s through to the present day, 'Insulin - The Crooked Timber' reveals a story of monstrous egos, toxic career rivalries, and a few unsung heroes such as two little known scientists whose work on wool fibres, carried out in a fume-filled former stable, not only proved to be crucial in unravelling the puzzle of insulin but ushered in a revolution in biology.
It was the author's own shocking diagnosis with Type 1 diabetes that prompted him to sit down and write this book, but this story has lessons for us all about what technology can - and more importantly cannot - do for us. As the world pins its hopes on effective and lasting vaccines against Covid-19, these lessons from the story of insulin have never been more relevant.
480 pages, Hardcover
Published April 20, 2022
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
July 29, 2022
Very rich in detail, this book will be a delight for those interested in the history of science. I liked how in depth the author went into the fight for recognition of the first scientist to isolate insulin (and I was shocked to see Paulescu mentioned).
The book however went into too much detail, especially when discussing cloning. I don't think we needed anything more than a quick mention of the history of the DNA prior to the first efforts of cloning. I was starting to tune out that part and was even tempted to drop the book.
I actually wish the last chapter--discussing the latest developments in insulin bio-engineering and the stressors on patients--was much longer. It was given short-shrift and I actually knew nothing about it. I was not exactly sure if the author is correct that we didn't need synthetic/human insulin yet--we may be aiming to reduce animal farming in the future, isolating a product from animals is always a bit risky health-wise, plus some patients may not wish to take animal insulin for religious reasons. So I wasn't sure how much of that part was correct. Overall the book seemed to be fairly accurate with a few exceptions (mioglobin is not a protein of the blood, but of the muscles; I believe the role of Watson in the discovery of the DNA structure may be inaccurately enlarged). But overall a good read for a science-history buff.
The book however went into too much detail, especially when discussing cloning. I don't think we needed anything more than a quick mention of the history of the DNA prior to the first efforts of cloning. I was starting to tune out that part and was even tempted to drop the book.
I actually wish the last chapter--discussing the latest developments in insulin bio-engineering and the stressors on patients--was much longer. It was given short-shrift and I actually knew nothing about it. I was not exactly sure if the author is correct that we didn't need synthetic/human insulin yet--we may be aiming to reduce animal farming in the future, isolating a product from animals is always a bit risky health-wise, plus some patients may not wish to take animal insulin for religious reasons. So I wasn't sure how much of that part was correct. Overall the book seemed to be fairly accurate with a few exceptions (mioglobin is not a protein of the blood, but of the muscles; I believe the role of Watson in the discovery of the DNA structure may be inaccurately enlarged). But overall a good read for a science-history buff.
Displaying 1 of 1 review