Penicillin: Triumph and Tragedy

By Anonymous

Penicillin: Triumph and Tragedy. Robert Bud. Oxford University Press. Pounds 30.00. ix + 330 pages. ISBN 978-0-19-925406-4. As Mr Bud writes, penicillin is seen as ‘the single most beneficial outcome of modern science’. This title is not just about the work of Fleming, Florey and the others but looks at the effect the discovery has had on modern medicine and health. The book places the discovery in the context of twentieth century medicine and is a study of limitation as well as of extension. Penicillin was undoubtedly a blessing in curing diseases such as pneumonia but its widespread use has led to problems. The use of those antibiotics which followed Florey’s discovery led to false hopes and expectations. The spread of MRSA in hospitals illustrates the situation. There were, in short, a lot of ‘unrealizable ambitions’ for a drug that had and has limitations. It did not transform medicine. This then is a valuable and needed study of discovery and of limitation, of medical treatment and health and of reality triumphing over hope. (A.K.M.)

Copyright Contemporary Review Company Ltd. Winter 2007

(c) 2007 Contemporary Review. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.