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)
On October 15, 1951, in a small laboratory in Mexico City, one of
the key episodes in 20th century social history occurred: the first
synthesis of a steroid oral contraceptive--an event that triggered
the development of the Pill. Carl Djerassi has been honored
worldwide for that accomplishment, which ultimately changed the
life of women and the nature of human reproduction in ways that
were not then foreseeable.
Now, on the 50th anniversary of this pivotal event, Djerassi
weaves a compelling personal narrative full of self-reflection and
humor, illuminating the impact this invention has had on the world
at large and on him personally. 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?
Djerassi also credits the Pill with radically altering his life,
allowing him to become one of the few American chemists to have a
second career, that of a novelist and playwright. These talents are
clearly evident in This Man's Pill, a superbly written and uniquely
authoritative account of a discovery that changed the world.
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