MEDICINE FROM MICROBES: The Story of Antibiotics

Adequately researched and written by the prolific Epsteins, this nevertheless lacks the drama and excitement of de Kruif's classic Microbe Hunters (1926, 1953) which it supplements (but surprisingly omits from the brief, adult oriented list of additional reading). While a short history of medicine introduces the subject, the microbes themselves are never well defined. The romance of early work is of course included, but most valuable is the inclusion of the later work with penicillin and streptomycin. The relatively brief final chapter includes the past 10 years and discusses present and future matters: mutation, vitamin production, application to cancer and arthritis.