Quinine: Malaria and the Quest for a Cure That Changed the World

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Quinine: Malaria's historic cure shaping global history.

If you're fascinated by the intersection of history, medicine, and global politics, "Quinine" by Fiammetta Rocco is a compelling read. The story of quinine is not just about a drug, but about the geopolitical and scientific journeys that were shaped by the quest for a malaria cure. It entwines adventure, greed, colonialism, and the profound impact on warfare and exploration. This book takes you beyond medicine into the broader effects on human endeavors and the world stage.

Note: While we do our best to ensure the accuracy of cover images, ISBNs may at times be reused for different editions of the same title which may hence appear as a different cover.

Quinine: Malaria and the Quest for a Cure That Changed the World

Regular price $12.90
Unit price
per
ISBN: 9780060959005
Authors: Fiammetta Rocco
Publisher: Perenial
Date of Publication: 2004-09-01
Format: Paperback
Related Collections: Science, Personal Development, History
Goodreads rating: 3.83
(rated by 272 readers)

Description

The fascinating story of the intensive search to discover and possess quinine—the only known cure for malaria. Malaria kills someone every 12 minutes in Africa. Now known mostly as a disease of the tropics, malaria led to the demise of the Roman Empire 2,000 years ago and ravaged Europe for years afterwards. At the start of the 17th century, Jesuit priests developed quinine, an alkaloid made out of the bitter red bark of the cinchona tree from the Andes. When quinine arrived in Europe, the Protestant powers resisted the medicine fearing that it was a Popish poison. Quinine’s reputation improved, however, when King Charles II was cured of malaria through its offices. Through the centuries, wars were fought to control the supply-through the building of the Panama Canal and into WWII--until Americans synthesized quinine for the first time in 1944. Rocco describes the ravages of the disease, the search for a cure, and the quest to steal and smuggle cinchona seeds out of South America. The Miraculous Fever Tree deftly illuminates the religious and scientific rivalries, intrepid exploration and colonization evinced by the search for quinine.
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Similar Reads

Quinine: Malaria's historic cure shaping global history.

If you're fascinated by the intersection of history, medicine, and global politics, "Quinine" by Fiammetta Rocco is a compelling read. The story of quinine is not just about a drug, but about the geopolitical and scientific journeys that were shaped by the quest for a malaria cure. It entwines adventure, greed, colonialism, and the profound impact on warfare and exploration. This book takes you beyond medicine into the broader effects on human endeavors and the world stage.

Note: While we do our best to ensure the accuracy of cover images, ISBNs may at times be reused for different editions of the same title which may hence appear as a different cover.