Overview

October 15, 1951 marks the birthday of one of the key episodes in 20th century social history: the first synthesis of a steroid oral contraceptive in a small laboratory in Mexico City - an event that triggered the development of the Pill. Carl Djerassi has been honoured worldwide for that accomplishment, which ultimately changed the life of women and the nature of human reproduction in ways that were not foreseeable. On the 50th anniversary of this pivotal event, Djerassi weaves a compelling personal narrative full of self-reflection and occasional humour on the impact this invention has had on the world at large and on him personally. He credits the Pill with radically altering his academic career at Stanford University to become one of the few American chemists writing novels and plays. This Man's Pill presents a forcefully revisionist account of the early history of the Pill, debunking many of the journalistic and romantic accounts of its scientific origin. Djerassi does not shrink from exploring why we have no Pill for men or why Japan only approved the Pill in 1999 (together with Viagra). Emphasizing that development of the Pill occurred during the post-War period of technological euphoria, he believes that it could not be repeated in today's climate. Would the sexual revolution of the 1960s or the impending separation of sex (""in bed"") and fertilization (""under the microscope"") still have happened? This Man's Pill answers such questions while providing a uniquely authoritative account of a discovery that changed the world.

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9780198606956

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Reviews

Review from other book by this author Carl Djerassi's scientific authorship of one of the most socially significant innovations of our time is well known. In this book, he examines the implications and social reception of the Pill with a combination of humanistic concern and careful socio-scientific analysis that is as rare as it is valuable. Kenneth J Arrow, Nobel laureate in Economics, 1972 fascinating ... entertaining Redaktion Angewandte Chemie, 2002 It is attractively written, appealing to non-scientists as well as to chemists Chemistry in Britain, January 2002 his essays are well worth reading Nature 20/12/2001 To a degree almost totally foreign to scientists, Carl Djerassi has put himself and his science under the microscope. In the process, he ranges far afield from the social implications of this monumental synthesis of the birth control Pill to his most recent excursions into the expression of science in literature, with poetry, fiction and the drama as his media. Join this voyeuristic feast. Joshua Lederberg, Nobel laureate in Physiology or Medicine, 1958

`Review from other book by this author Carl Djerassi's scientific authorship of one of the most socially significant innovations of our time is well known. In this book, he examines the implications and social reception of the Pill with a combination of humanistic concern and careful socio-scientific analysis that is as rare as it is valuable.' Kenneth J Arrow, Nobel laureate in Economics, 1972 `fascinating . . . entertaining' Redaktion Angewandte Chemie, 2002 `It is attractively written, appealing to non-scientists as well as to chemists' Chemistry in Britain, January 2002 `his essays are well worth reading' Nature 20/12/2001 `To a degree almost totally foreign to scientists, Carl Djerassi has put himself and his science under the microscope. In the process, he ranges far afield from the social implications of this monumental synthesis of the birth control ""Pill"" to his most recent excursions into the expression of science in literature, with poetry, fiction and the drama as his media. Join this voyeuristic feast.' Joshua Lederberg, Nobel laureate in Physiology or Medicine, 1958

One of the many interesting facts contained in this book is that, in the United States, 80 percent of all women born since 1945 have used the contraceptive pill. In terms of its socio-cultural impact, from religion to women's' rights, the pill has few parallels. The book looks at how this drug was largely responsible for 'the gradual divorce of sex from reproduction' in a similarly revolutionary way to the recent advent of in-vitro fertilisation techniques, which have also separated the sex act and reproduction. This Man's Pill details the evolution of the pill and discusses every facet of its development and the impact it has had on societies around the world. It is also a very personal account of the author's own involvement and the resulting changes to his beliefs and attictudes to science. Djerassi was instrumental in the birth of the pill and describes how his involvement in the development of such a revolutionary drug has changed his approach to chemistry. He describes his increasing concern and interest in the social consequences arising from scientific and technological developments. He is able to view his subject both intimately and objectively, discussing the arguments for and against the pill in great detail and from a variety of angles. This is an in-depth examination of the pill, which takes into account chemical and medical history, moral debate; as well as the ethical, cultural and geographical implications. This Man's Pill is an entertaining and erudite account of a complex subject that will appeal to many beyond just the field of mechanical science. (Kirkus UK)

A thoughtful, forthright and accessible book. Djerassi writes with humor and aplomb.

Author Information

Carl Djerassi, professor of chemistry at Stanford University, is one of the few American scientists to have been awarded both the National Medal of Science (for the first synthesis of a steroid oral contraceptive - ""the Pill"") and the National Medal of Technology (for promoting new approaches to insect control). A member of the US National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences as well as many foreign academies, Djerassi has received 18 honorary doctorates together with numerous other honours, such as the first Wolf Prize in Chemistry, the first Award for the Industrial Application of Science from the National Academy of Sciences, and the American Chemical Society's highest award, the Priestley Medal. For the past decade, he has turned to fiction writing, mostly in the genre of ""science-in-fiction,"" whereby he illustrates, in the guise of realistic fiction, the human side of scientists and the personal conflicts faced by scientists in their quest for scie

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