Chronicles of Pharmacy, Vol. 1 (of 2)

A. C. Wootton and Peter MacEwan

Hermes, Bacchus and Apollo invented medicine, mummy dust and unicorn horn sold at princely prices, and the history of the drug counter turns out to be stranger than any novel. Wootton spent a lifetime in pharmacy collecting its best stories, and this first volume pours them out: the myths, the divine inventors, the serpents of Aesculapius, the remedies that ruled for centuries on reputation alone. Erudite, wry and endlessly quotable. The perfect bedside book for lovers of history's odd corners. Start with the myths and try to stop.