This Man's Pill

Carl Djerassi was responsible for the chemical synthesis of the first steroid oral contraceptive: he is widely referred to as the 'father of the Pill'. In This Man's Pill, Djerassi reflects on the impact the invention of the oral contraceptive pill has had on the world, and on Djerassi himself. It includes a revisionist account of the early history of the Pill, debunking many of the journalistic and romantic accounts of its scientific origin. Here is a uniquely authoritative account of a discovery that changed the world.

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.

Autorentext
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.



Klappentext
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.

Zusammenfassung
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.

Inhalt
1: An exaltation of thirty: Murasaki and company
2: Genealogy and birth of the pill
3: Bitter pills
4: The view from Tokyo
5: Sex and Immortality
6: From the pill to the PC
7: Science-in-fiction is not science fiction. Is it autobiography?
8: Behind the scrim of fiction
9: The softer chemist
10: The pill and Paul Klee
11: Science on stage
12: What if?

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