Scurvy
How a Surgeon, a Mariner, and a Gentlemen Solved the Greatest Medical Mystery of the Age of Sail
ISBN10: 0312313926
ISBN13: 9780312313920
Trade Paperback
272 Pages
$21.99
Scurvy took a terrible toll in the Age of Sail, killing more sailors than were lost in all sea battles combined. The threat of the disease kept ships close to home and doomed those vessels that ventured too far from port. The willful ignorance of the royal medical elite, who endorsed ludicrous medical theories based on speculative research while ignoring the life-saving properties of citrus fruit, cost tens of thousands of lives and altered the course of many battles at sea. The cure for scurvy ranks among the greatest of human accomplishments, yet its impact on history has, until now, been largely ignored.
From the earliest recorded appearance of the disease in the sixteenth century, to the eighteenth century, where a man had only half a chance of surviving the scourge, to the early nineteenth century, when the British conquered scurvy and successfully blockaded the French and defeated Napoleon, Scurvy is a medical detective story for the ages, the fascinating true story of how James Lind (the surgeon), James Cook (the mariner), and Gilbert Blane (the gentleman) worked separately to eliminate the dreaded affliction.
Scurvy is an evocative journey back to the era of wooden ships and sails, when the disease infiltrated every aspect of seafaring life: press gangs "recruit" mariners on the way home from a late night at the pub; a terrible voyage in search of riches ends with a hobbled fleet and half the crew heaved overboard; Cook majestically travels the South Seas but suffers an unimaginable fate. Brimming with tales of ships, sailors, and baffling bureaucracy, Scurvy is a rare mix of compelling history and classic adventure story.
Reviews
Praise for Scurvy
"In writing that is fast on its feet, Bown introduces both drama and incredulity into the mix . . . in this splendid, popular telling of the scurvy story."—American Geographical Society
"A swift and powerful geopolitical portrait, with scurvy as the protagonist."—Dallas Morning News
"Bown really hits his stride with this one, weaving a tale of medical discovery into a swashbuckling adventure on the high seas that deserves to give the reigning king of the romance of science genre, Simon Winchester, a good run for his money."—Toronto Star
"Today it is consigned largely to the pages of history—none more informative and readable than those of Stephen Bown."—Natural History
"Stephen Bown has written the definitive history of scurvy. He tells a fascinating story with aplomb."—Derek Lundy, author of The Way of a Ship
"Scurvy is a gripping book and a bargain, full of adventure, big events, and human nature at its best and worst."—New Scientist
"A spirited, stimulating account of how the cure for the feared disease was found, lost, and found again . . . Splendid popular history."—Kirkus Reviews
Reviews from Goodreads
BOOK EXCERPTS
Read an Excerpt
Scurvy
1
THE EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY SEAFARING WORLD: THE AGE OF SCURVY
AN ENGLISH SAILOR RELAXED in an alehouse with companions after a long voyage from the West Indies. After over a year away, he wanted to celebrate...