Murder, Magic, and Medicine

This absorbing account of the evolution of modern medicine from its roots in folk culture will entertain and inform both scientists and general readers alike. It explains the chemical basis of modern pharmacology, and provides a fascinating description of the use and abuse of natural products in various societies through the ages and how this largely trial-and-error process has led to the development of many of the drugs we now take for granted. Primitive cultures especially identified a wealth of edible and poisonous plants, and refined their use in practices related to hunting, healing, magic, religion, and warfare. Today, this heritage can be linked to the origin of such modern-day substances as hemlock and other notorious poisons, as well as to a range of psychoactive drugs like cocaine and LSD, and to beneficial pharmaceuticals including quinine, penicillin, and AZT. However many plant and animal species still remain undiscovered, and as the author notes, much native folk medicine has yet to be investigated. With the rapid destruction of many of the earth's natural resources, this book is particularly timely as these potentially valuable sources could be lost forever.