The Discovery of Insulin: Special Centenary Edition

by Michael Bliss, Alison Li (Foreword by)

Overview

The discovery of insulin at the University of Toronto in 1921–2 was one of the most dramatic events in the history of the treatment of disease. Insulin, discovered by the Canadian research team of Frederick Banting, Charles Best, James Collip, and John Macleod, was a wonder drug with the ability to bring diabetes patients back from the brink of death. It was no surprise that in 1923 the Nobel Prize for Medicine was awarded for its discovery.

In this engaging and award-winning account, historian Michael Bliss draws on archival records and personal adventures to recount the fascinating story behind the discovery of insulin – a story as much filled with fiery confrontation and intense competition as medical dedication and scientific genius.

With a new preface by Michael Bliss and a foreword by Alison Li, the special centenary edition of The Discovery of Insulin honours the one hundredth anniversary of insulin’s discovery and its continued significance a century later.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781487529130
Publisher:	University of Toronto Press
Publication date:	09/30/2021
Pages:	352
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.40(d)

About the Author

Michael Bliss was a Canadian historian and a University Professor Emeritus in the Department of History and the History of Medicine Program at the University of Toronto. He was the author of numerous award-winning books in business and political history as well as the history of medicine, including popular biographies of Sir Frederick Banting, Sir William Osler, and Harvey Cushing. He was an Officer of the Order of Canada, an honorary fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, and the first historian to be inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame.
Alison Li is an historian of science and medicine based in Toronto. She is the author and editor of multiple books, including J.B. Collip and the Development of Medical Research in Canada. Her current project, Wondrous Transformations: A Maverick Physician, the Science of Hormones, and the Birth of the Transgender Revolution, will be published by University of North Carolina Press.

Table of Contents

Preface to the Special Centenary Edition

Foreword by Alison Li

Introduction: What Happened at Toronto?

1. A Long Prelude
2. Banting’s Idea
3. The Summer of 1921
4. “A Mysterious Something”
5. Triumph
6. “Unspeakably Wonderful”
7. Resurrection
8. Who Discovered Insulin?
9. Honouring the Prophets
10. A Continuing Epilogue

Notes
Sources
Index

What People are Saying About This

Robert A. Hegele

"No book before or since, fiction or non-fiction, has affected me as powerfully: I was inspired to enter the specialty of endocrinology and to pursue medical research after reading The Discovery of Insulin. The new edition of this historical masterpiece marking the centenary of insulin's discovery fleshes out events and personalities through a narrative that remains as stirring and relevant as ever."

Jeffrey M. Friedman

"This book reaches well beyond the story of insulin. It is a timeless chronicle on the pursuit of science, as well as the nature of discoveries and the people who make them."

Shelley McKellar

"This book is the definitive history of the discovery of insulin and readers will be captivated by the determination, exasperation, suffering, and ultimate resurrection of individuals. Alison Li's foreword offers tremendous insight into the writing and impact of The Discovery of Insulin — incredibly valuable and a pleasure to read!"

Patricia Brubaker

"Beautifully written for both the non-expert and expert, The Discovery of Insulin not only describes the events surrounding that momentous discovery in 1921, but also provides insight into the numerous factors that promote as well as detract from scientific discovery."

Editorial Reviews

"The definitive history... well written, highly readable."

—London Review of Books

" The Discovery of Insulin deserves a place on the bookshelf alongside such eye-openers as James Watson's The Double Helix."

—Washington Post

"Scrupulously researched and compellingly readable... I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone with an interest in diabetes, medical history, or medical scandal and gossip."

—British Medical Journal

"This book reaches well beyond the story of insulin. It is a timeless chronicle on the pursuit of science, as well as the nature of discoveries and the people who make them."

—Jeffrey M. Friedman, Marilyn M. Simpson Professor, The Rockefeller University, and Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute

"Beautifully written for both the non-expert and expert, The Discovery of Insulin not only describes the events surrounding that momentous discovery in 1921, but also provides insight into the numerous factors that promote as well as detract from scientific discovery."

—Patricia Brubaker, Professor, Departments of Physiology and Medicine, University of Toronto

"No book before or since, fiction or non-fiction, has affected me as powerfully: I was inspired to enter the specialty of endocrinology and to pursue medical research after reading The Discovery of Insulin. The new edition of this historical masterpiece marking the centenary of insulin’s discovery fleshes out events and personalities through a narrative that remains as stirring and relevant as ever."

—Robert A. Hegele, Jacob J. Wolfe Distinguished Medical Research Chair, Martha Blackburn Chair in Cardiovascular Research, and Distinguished University Professor of Medicine and Biochemistry, Western University

"This book is the definitive history of the discovery of insulin and readers will be captivated by the determination, exasperation, suffering, and ultimate resurrection of individuals. Alison Li’s foreword offers tremendous insight into the writing and impact of The Discovery of Insulin – incredibly valuable and a pleasure to read!"

—Shelley McKellar, Hannah Chair in the History of Medicine, Western University

From the Publisher

"The Discovery of Insulin deserves a place on the bookshelf alongside such eye-openers as James Watson's The Double Helix."

Washington Post

"The definitive history ... well written, highly readable."

London Review of Books

"Scrupulously researched and compellingly readable ... I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone with an interest in diabetes, medical history, or medical scandal and gossip."

British Medical Journal

"The Discovery of Insulin deserves a place on the bookshelf alongside such eye-openers as James Watson's The Double Helix."

Washington Post