**An Economist Best Book of the Year“Wildly entertaining and thoughtful.” —Kate Tuttle, Boston GlobeA lively account of how Darwin’s work on natural selection transformed science and society, and an investigation into the mysterious illness that plagued its author.**By early morning of June 30, 1860, a large crowd began to congregate in front of Oxford University’s brand-new Museum of Natural History. The occasion was the annual meeting of the Brit...

Acclaimed medical historian Howard Markel traces the careers of two brilliant young doctors—Sigmund Freud, neurologist, and William Halsted, surgeon—showing how their powerful addictions to cocaine shaped their enormous contributions to psychology and medicine.When Freud and Halsted began their experiments with cocaine in the 1880s, neither they, nor their colleagues, had any idea of the drug's potential to dominate and endanger their lives. An Anatomy of Addiction tells t...

**An NPR Best Book of the YearAn authoritative history of the race to unravel DNA’s structure, by one of our most prominent medical historians.**James Watson and Francis Crick’s 1953 discovery of the double helix structure of DNA is the foundation of virtually every advance in our modern understanding of genetics and molecular biology. But how did Watson and Crick do it—and why were they the ones who succeeded?In truth, the discovery of DNA’s structure is the story ...

John Harvey Kellogg was one of America's most beloved physicians; a bestselling author, lecturer, and health-magazine publisher; founder of the Battle Creek Sanitarium; and patron saint of the pursuit of wellness. His youngest brother, Will, was the founder of the Battle Creek Toasted Corn Flake Company, which revolutionized the mass production of food and what we eat for breakfast.In The Kelloggs, Howard Markel tells the sweeping saga of these two extraordinary men, whose...

By early morning of June 30, 1860, a large crowd began to congregate in front of Oxford University's brand-new Museum of Natural History. The occasion was the annual meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, and the subject of discussion was Charles Darwin's new treatise: fact or fiction?Darwin claimed to have solved "that mystery of mysteries," introducing a logical explanation of the origin of species—how they adapted, even transmogrified, through natural...

The struggle against deadly microbes is endless. Diseases that have plagued human beings since ancient times still exist, new maladies make their way into the headlines, we are faced with vaccine shortages, and the threat of germ warfare has reemerged as a worldwide threat.In this riveting account, medical historian Howard Markel takes an eye-opening look at the fragility of the American public health system. He tells the distinctive stories of six epidemics—tuberculosis, bubonic p...

A FIRST-EVER COLLECTION FROM AMERICA'S MOST DISTINGUISHED HISTORIAN OF MEDICINE AND CULTURAL LIFE From Howard Markel, author of An Anatomy of Addiction "Absorbing, vivid" -- Sherwin Nuland, The New York Times Book Review, front page) and The Kelloggs (2017 National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist for Biography), Literatim is a collection of the writer's essays on medicine, American culture, and how their intersections compose the int...

The struggle against deadly microbes is endless. Diseases that have plagued human beings since ancient times still exist, new maladies make their way into the headlines, we are faced with vaccine shortages, and the threat of germ warfare has reemerged as a worldwide threat.In this riveting account, medical historian Howard Markel takes an eye-opening look at the fragility of the American public health system. He tells the distinctive stories of six epidemics–tuberculosis, bubonic p...

An authoritative history of the race to unravel DNA’s structure, by one of our most prominent medical historians.James Watson and Francis Crick’s 1953 discovery of the double helix structure of DNA is the foundation of virtually every advance in our modern understanding of genetics and molecular biology. But how did Watson and Crick do it—and whywere they the ones who succeeded?In truth, the discovery of DNA’s structure is the story of five towering minds in pursuit ...

Listeners around the world have been enthralled by Killing Lincoln, Killing Kennedy, and Killing Jesus—riveting works of nonfiction that journey into the heart of the most famous murders in history.Now from Bill O'Reilly, iconic anchor of The O'Reilly Factor, comes the most epic audiobook of all in this multimillion-selling series: Killing Patton.General George S. Patton, Jr. died under mysteriou...

Hillbilly Elegy recounts J.D. Vance's powerful origin story...From a former marine and Yale Law School graduate now serving as Vice President, an incisive account of growing up in a poor Rust Belt town that offers a broader, probing look at the struggles of America's white working class.THE #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER"You will not read a more important book about America this year."—The Economist

A New York Times BestsellerIn the spirit of Steve Jobs and Moneyball, Elon Musk is both an illuminating and authorized look at the extraordinary life of one of Silicon Valley’s most exciting, unpredictable, and ambitious entrepreneurs—a real-life Tony Stark—and a fascinating exploration of the renewal of American invention and its new “makers.”Elon Musk spotlights the technology and vision of Elon Musk, t...