The Remedy: Robert Koch, Arthur Conan Doyle, and the Quest to Cure Tuberculosis

by Thomas Goetz Narrated by Donald Corren

Overview

The riveting history of tuberculosis, the world' s most lethal disease, the two men whose lives it tragically intertwined, and the birth of medical science. In 1875, tuberculosis was the deadliest disease in the world, accountable for a third of all deaths. A diagnosis of TB-- often called consumption-- was a death sentence. Then, in triumph of medical science, a German doctor named Robert Koch deployed an unprecedented scientific rigor to discover the bacteria that caused TB. Koch soon embarked on a remedy-- a remedy that would be his undoing. When Koch announced his cure for consumption, Arthur Conan Doyle, then a small-town doctor in England and sometime writer, went to Berlin to cover the event. Touring the ward of reportedly cured patients, he was horrified. Koch' s " remedy" was either sloppy science or outright fraud. But to a world desperate for relief, Koch' s remedy wasn' t so easily dismissed. As Europe' s consumptives descended upon Berlin, Koch urgently tried to prove his case. Conan Doyle, meanwhile, returned to England determined to abandon medicine in favor of writing. In particular, he turned to a character inspired by the very scientific methods that Koch had formulated: Sherlock Holmes. Capturing the moment when mystery and magic began to yield to science, The Remedy chronicles the stunning story of how the germ theory of disease became a true fact, how two men of ambition were emboldened to reach for something more, and how scientific discoveries evolve into social truths.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

01/13/2014
Former Wired executive editor Goetz (The Decision Tree) offers an intriguing medical and literary history based on “accidental partners in a profound social shift toward science and away from superstition.” Robert Koch, a meticulous and ambitious German country doctor-turned-scientist, isolated the bacteria causing TB and, Goetz writes, in doing so “offered a template” not only for medical science but for “all scientific investigation.” Physician and Sherlock Holmes creator Arthur Conan Doyle also viewed “science as a tool,” and Koch’s work in microbiology “provided the template” for Doyle’s fictional detective’s fascination “with minuscule detail.” Though his scientific work remains an important legacy, Koch never achieved the fame he sought in finding a cure for TB. Yet, Goetz notes, “Koch’s science became a kind of remedy nonetheless,” changing the perception of the disease as “something that could be understood and defended against.” Ironically, Doyle, though an admirer of Koch, would ultimately help debunk Koch’s failed theory that an injection of “lymph” could cure TB. But this pair’s fascinating, convergent stories have much more in common, as Goetz aptly demonstrates that both Koch and Doyle were doggedly inquisitive men who discovered that neither germs nor crime are any match for science. Agent: Chris Calhoun. (Apr.)

From the Publisher

A thoughtful, patient, ultimately fascinating account of the struggle of 19th century science, and society, to come to grips with the germ theory of illness, and develop new technologies to take on one of humanity’s oldest scourges, tuberculosis.”
— Forbes

“A gripping story... with great verve, painting word pictures full of color and telling detail... vividly evokes the rivalries rife in the scientific world.”
— Washington Times
 
“An enjoyable chronicle.”
—  The Wall Street Journal

"Immensely pleasurable... a superb narrative...  [Goetz is] a fluid and elegant writer, with a knack for painting the personalities of those involved."
– The Lancet

“Weaves the suspense of a Sherlock Holmes mystery into a tale of ambition, obsession, scientific discovery and skepticism at the dawn of modern medicine.”
– Discover Magazine
 
“A thoroughly enjoyable and illuminating journey through several decades of European history and an intimate portrait of two once-obscure doctors who shaped it. It's a book that illustrates how the imagination and the intellect can work in concert to cure a disease, or to delight an audience of millions.”
–  Los Angeles Times

“The Remedy is a highly entertaining, interesting, and thought-provoking book, leaving the reader with a much deeper appreciation of how much safer — and in many ways, predictable — our lives are today thanks to the toil and efforts of men such as Robert Koch and his contemporaries."
—Boston Globe

“The Remedy achieves a rare feat: serious, accurate scientific writing that is also engaging and entertaining.”
—Shelf Awareness

“Goetz weaves together a compelling narrative, chronicling the struggle to find the causes and cures for some of the most ferocious diseases that have stalked humans (and animals) through time: cholera, smallpox, anthrax and tuberculosis... Perhaps most importantly, The Remedy reminds us of how far we have come, and how much we take for granted in modern medicine.”
— Bookpage

"An intriguing medical and literary history… fascinating, convergent stories [of] doggedly inquisitive men who discovered that neither germs nor crime are any match for science."
—Publishers Weekly

“A beguiling real-life medical detective story.”

—Kirkus Reviews

"The Remedy is a rare, thrilling achievement: a book that helps us understand the roots of transformative ideas that simultaneously manages to tell a story worthy of a 19th-century novel, full of surprising links, rivalries, and intellectual triumph."
—Steven Johnson, author of The Ghost Map  
 
"In The Remedy, Thomas Goetz offers a wonderfully original origins story for modern science. He weaves together one of the great achievements of the nineteenth century—the germ theory of disease—with the creation of the fictional superhero of science, Sherlock Homes, with grace and surprise."
—Carl Zimmer, author of A Planet of Viruses and The Tangled Bank: An Introduction to Evolution
 
 


"A thoughtful, patient, ultimately fascinating account of the struggle of 19th century science, and society, to come to grips with the germ theory of illness, and develop new technologies to take on one of humanity’s oldest scourges, tuberculosis."
—Forbes

"A gripping story... with great verve, painting word pictures full of color and telling detail... vividly evokes the rivalries rife in the scientific world."
—Washington Times

"An enjoyable chronicle."
—The Wall Street Journal

"Immensely pleasurable... a superb narrative...  [Goetz is] a fluid and elegant writer, with a knack for painting the personalities of those involved."
—The Lancet

"Weaves the suspense of a Sherlock Holmes mystery into a tale of ambition, obsession, scientific discovery and skepticism at the dawn of modern medicine."
—Discover
 
“A thoroughly enjoyable and illuminating journey through several decades of European history and an intimate portrait of two once-obscure doctors who shaped it. It's a book that illustrates how the imagination and the intellect can work in concert to cure a disease, or to delight an audience of millions.”
—Los Angeles Times

“The Remedy is a highly entertaining, interesting, and thought-provoking book, leaving the reader with a much deeper appreciation of how much safer — and in many ways, predictable — our lives are today thanks to the toil and efforts of men such as Robert Koch and his contemporaries."
—Boston Globe

“The Remedy achieves a rare feat: serious, accurate scientific writing that is also engaging and entertaining.”
—Shelf Awareness

“Goetz weaves together a compelling narrative, chronicling the struggle to find the causes and cures for some of the most ferocious diseases that have stalked humans (and animals) through time: cholera, smallpox, anthrax and tuberculosis... Perhaps most importantly, The Remedy reminds us of how far we have come, and how much we take for granted in modern medicine.”
—Bookpage

"An intriguing medical and literary history… fascinating, convergent stories [of] doggedly inquisitive men who discovered that neither germs nor crime are any match for science."
—Publishers Weekly

"A beguiling real-life medical detective story."
—Kirkus Reviews
 
"The Remedy is a rare, thrilling achievement: a book that helps us understand the roots of transformative ideas that simultaneously manages to tell a story worthy of a 19th-century novel, full of surprising links, rivalries, and intellectual triumph."
—Steven Johnson, author of The Ghost Map  
 
"In The Remedy, Thomas Goetz offers a wonderfully original origins story for modern science. He weaves together one of the great achievements of the nineteenth century—the germ theory of disease—with the creation of the fictional superhero of science, Sherlock Homes, with grace and surprise."
—Carl Zimmer, author of A Planet of Viruses and The Tangled Bank: An Introduction to Evolution

Kirkus Reviews

2014-01-23
The story of a pair of unlikely heroes who crossed paths in Berlin in 1890 and forever changed the landscapes of medicine and literature. In the late 19th century, tuberculosis was an incurable scourge that killed indiscriminately and ravaged populations; for decades, it was the leading cause of death in Europe and the United States. The origin of the disease was a complete mystery, as was its uncanny ability to travel from one person to another. One young country doctor in Germany, Robert Koch (1843–1910), became determined to apply new theories of microbiology to his study of TB. His great breakthrough, that "germs" are isolatable bacteria that have infectious properties, profoundly changed the field of medicine. Meanwhile, another young country doctor, Arthur Conan Doyle, followed news of Koch's discovery from England. A moonlighting writer, Doyle traveled to Berlin when Koch announced a demonstration of a "cure" he'd devised from his laboratory research. Doyle's disappointment was acute; while Koch's germ theories were revolutionary, his remedy was bunk. Doyle pulled no punches in his takedown of Koch's remedy, but what he learned about Koch's methodology and earlier success left an indelible impression on his fiction. The idea of scientific detective work inspired Doyle to give up medicine and pursue literature full-time, and the character Sherlock Holmes—with his signature "science of deduction" technique—was born. Atlantic correspondent Goetz (The Decision Tree: Taking Control of Your Health in the New Era of Personalized Medicine, 2010) weaves these two narratives through a history of medical best practices, a fascinating period marked by improved hygienic practices and the possibility of new vaccines. Koch's legacy remains robust (he was awarded a Nobel Prize in 1905 despite his remedy gaffe), and his great accomplishment is a tenet that Doyle held dear in his stories: There exists a possibility of defense from any attacking agent, so long as the right clues are uncovered. A beguiling real-life medical detective story.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940170468874
Publisher:	Recorded Books, LLC
Publication date:	04/03/2014
Edition description:	Unabridged

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