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You Bet Your Life: From Blood Transfusions to Mass Vaccination, the Long and Risky History of Medical Innovation
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About This Book
One of America's top physicians traces the history of risk in medicine—with powerful lessons for today Every medical decision—whether to have chemotherapy, an X-ray, or surgery—is a risk, no matter which way you choose. In You Bet Your Life , physician Paul A. Offit argues that, from the first blood transfusions four hundred years ago to the hunt for a COVID-19 vaccine, risk has been essential to the discovery of new treatments. More importantly, understanding the risks is crucial to whether, as a society or as individuals, we accept them. Told in Offit's vigorous and rigorous style, You Bet Your Life is an entertaining history of medicine. But it also lays bare the tortured relationships between intellectual breakthroughs, political realities, and human foibles. Our pandemic year has shown us, with its debates over lockdowns, masks, and vaccines, how easy it is to get everything wrong. You Bet Your Life is an essential read for getting the future a bit more right.
Reviews
"A well-written and informative look at the reality of medical advancement, including poignant examples of its often-fatal repercussions."
"his review of the history of vaccination and of its complexities evokes surprising empathy for the vaccine-hesitant"
"As Offit shows, there's heroism in that."
"Certainly, the maxim that no one should know how sausages are made applies here, but Offit is a fluid storyteller armed with decades of knowledge, and he provides an educative, though often distressing, reading experience."
"as entertaining as it is informative."
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