Aroused: The History of Hormones and How They Control Just About Everything

by Randi Hutter Epstein M.D.

Overview

A Science News Favorite Science Book of 2018

“A sweeping, glorious story of hormones, threaded through with sex, suffering, neurology, biology, medicine, and self-discovery.” —Siddhartha Mukherjee

Metabolism, behavior, sleep, mood swings, the immune system, fighting, fleeing, puberty, and sex: these are just a few of the things our bodies control with hormones. Armed with a healthy dose of wit and curiosity, medical journalist Randi Hutter Epstein reveals the “invigorating history” (Nature) of hormones and the age-old quest to control them through the back rooms, basements, and labs where endocrinology began.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780393357080
Publisher:	Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
Publication date:	06/18/2019
Pages:	336
Sales rank:	634,858
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Randi Hutter Epstein, M.D., M.P.H., the author of Aroused and Get Me Out, is an adjunct professor at Columbia University, a lecturer at Yale University, and writer in residence at Yale Medical School. Her writing has appeared in the New York Times and the Psychology Today blog, among others. She lives in New York.

Table of Contents

Introduction xi

1 The Fat Bride 1

2 Hormones … As We May Call Them 14

3 Pickled Brains 34

4 Killer Hormones 54

5 The Virile Vasectomy 72

6 Soul Mates in Sex Hormones 89

7 Making Gender 102

8 Growing Up 126

9 Measuring the Immeasurable 148

10 Growing Pains 160

11 Hotheads: The Mysteries of Menopause 174

12 Testosterone Endopreneurs 194

13 Oxytocin: That Lovin' Feeling 214

14 Transitioning 230

15 Insatiable: The Hypothalamus and Obesity 246

Epilogue 257

Acknowledgments 261

Notes 267

Index 299

Editorial Reviews

"Engaging.… [Epstein] writes with a wry sense of humor, balancing historical facts and poignant tales of real people."

San Francisco Book Review

"Well-written and informative."

New York Times Book Review

"Epstein brings a savvy background to a book rich in clever digressions as well as scientific know-how and historical fact.… A history of endocrinology as entertaining as it is informative, Aroused adroitly covers the basic science, clinical application and dubious commercialization of hormones."

Shelf Awareness

"Epstein winningly writes about the science of endocrinology, the history of hormone science, and the individuals pivotal to our understanding of the chemical substances that make us who we are.… Aroused is indeed stimulating reading: instructive, thought provoking, and fun."

Booklist (starred review)

"A simply riveting read that is as informed and informative as it is well written, organized, and presented."

Midwest Book Review

"An invaluable guide.… [Epstein] cleverly moves back and forth through time, avoiding any hint of dry recitation."

Science News

04/02/2018
Science writer Epstein (Get Me Out: A History of Childbirth from the Garden of Eden to the Sperm Bank) gives readers a lucid and entertaining look at the social and scientific history of endocrinology. Epstein roots her history in people, such as 19th-century “rooster-testicle-swapping” German researcher, Arnold Berthold (1803–1861), who showed that glands released hormones into the blood rather than into the nervous system, and Park Avenue doctor Louis Berman (1893–1946) who, when he wasn’t treating celebrities, wrote popular books offering hormone remedies and predicting that once Western medicine learned how to exploit the endocrine system, Earth would be full of superhumans. From using growth hormone to make children taller to in vitro fertilization and exploring what sex hormones have to do with gender identification and aging, Epstein frames science in human terms, delving into such topics as eugenics, medical errors, and scams like vasectomy as a way to boost sex drive. The author’s beguiling prose (“the preservatives had evaporated through tiny cracks, so bits and bobs of brain were puckered and withered”) makes for a lively and accessible introduction to hormones and the important work they do in the lives of humans. (June)

Publishers Weekly

"A sweeping, glorious story of hormones, threaded through with sex, suffering, neurology, biology, medicine and self-discovery, Randi Hutter Epstein’s book manages to excite the imagination as well as calm it. The story is grippingly told, and Epstein manages to bring a whole system of science alive to her reading public."

Siddhartha Mukherjee

"Hormones may be the ringmasters of the bodily circus, controlling everything from sex to metabolic function, but in this invigorating history they become the stars of the show."

Nature

"The field of endocrinology, as this compelling history shows, has manifested extremes of ingenuity and hubristic error."

The New Yorker

"Hormones today can seem a bit like angels and demons in earlier times: invisible agents mysteriously responsible for everything in our lives. In her funny, eye-opening book, Randi Hutter Epstein demystifies these molecules, while taking away none of their amazing power."

Carl Zimmer

"Hunger. Lust. Maternal love. It’s hard to believe our biggest human dramas are written by tiny molecules discovered only a century ago. Randi Hutter Epstein spins a fine medical history of the hormones coursing through our blood, the hucksters who hawk them, and scientific visionaries who changed the way we think about who we are."

Florence Williams

"Hormones may be the ringmasters of the bodily circus, controlling everything from sex to metabolic function, but in this invigorating history they become the stars of the show."

Nature Lib

★ 2018-04-03
A tour of the history of endocrinology, highlighting progress but also the hype that has promoted the curative abilities of hormones.Epstein (Get Me Out: A History of Childbirth from the Garden of Eden to the Sperm Bank, 2010), who has a medical degree and masters of public health, explores the long-held beliefs in the power of glandular "juices," but she credits two British researchers at the dawn of the 20th century as the founders of the science of endocrinology. Their canine experiments showed that a chemical released by the pancreas aids digestion without the involvement of the nervous system. By 1905, the word hormone had been coined, and the science took off. In successive chapters the author highlights selected hormones, but not before she introduces the "Fat Bride," a 517-pound sideshow star who, along with giants and bearded ladies, is now considered a victim of hormones gone awry. Epstein devotes a chapter to Harvey Cushing, the brain surgeon who described the hormones secreted by the pituitary gland that also stimulate secretions of other glands. By the 1920s, hormones were touted as being responsible for emotions and behaviors. The '20s also saw the launch of a long fad for vasectomies, touted as the sure cure for declining libido and other aging male ills. Later chapters also deal with sexual themes. At one time, it was decided that babies born with ambiguous sexual organs should be assigned either a male or female sex designation and have corrective surgery in the first year of life. This is wrong, given current understanding of the complexity of sex determinants; Epstein makes this clear in a sensitive chapter on trans individuals. As for the sex hormones themselves, the hype continues. Not so long ago, estrogen was the dream hormone that would cure hot flashes and ward off heart disease and Alzheimer's. It's true for hot flashes, but forget the rest. As for the virtues of testosterone, the hype goes on.A fine, poignant survey of "what makes us human, from the inside out."

Kirkus Reviews