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The Mould in Dr Florey's Coat: The Remarkable True Story of the Penicillin Miracle
Contemporary Review, Oct, 2004
The Mould in Dr Florey's Coat: The Remarkable True Story of the Penicillin Miracle. Eric Lax. Little, Brown. [pounds sterling]16.99. viii + 389 pages. ISBN 0-316-85925-7. This book, first published in the U.S., looks at the Oxford medical team which, in the 1940s, successfully isolated penicillin from the culture in which it develops, thereby completing the work begun by Alexander Fleming in the 1920s.
Mr Lax begins his story with Fleming and his pioneering work during the Great War and in passing explores the myths surrounding Fleming's discovery. He describes the men who were involved in the 1940s work: the Australianborn, Howard Florey; the Jewish exile, Ernst Chain; and the English scientist, Norman Heatley. The author shows how each of these men, and their assistants, contributed to the final discovery and sets their work against the backdrop of the Second World War. He describes Florey and Heatley's trip to America to develop the production of the new drug. He also traces the careers of the three men after the war and the relative neglect from which all suffered. Mr Lax has based his book on surviving manuscript sources and interviews with people who knew the research team. These two sources give the book both authority and personal detail which make it an enjoyable history of discovery. (R.H.P.)
COPYRIGHT 2004 Contemporary Review Company Ltd.
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group
