Main description:

This volume describes important medical discoveries, from the introduction of the first antibiotic to the present, where serendipity, intuition, coincidence, or laboratory accident played an important role in bringing a discovery to light. Although chance is the principal determinant, the book emphasizes other factors, such as economic and political exigencies and being in the right place at the right time.

Contents:

1. Dyes and Destiny 2. A Lesson from "The Wizard of Oz" 3. Elegy for a Planet 4. Afflictions of Affluence 5. Too Much of a Good Thing 6. Foresight, Nearsight and Insight 7. Captain of the Men of Death 8. The Oxford Incidents 9. Orphans and Their Relatives 10. Janus and the Cancer Connection 11. Concept Out of Chaos 12. Bing, Bang and Levin and the Horseshoe Crab 13. Mighty like a Rose 14. Backyard Full of Diamonds