Pill, Pygmy Chimps and Degas' Horse

Blending descriptions of the lucrative world of drug development with controversial chapters on the politics of contraception and chapters about the author's personal and professional aspirations, this is the autobiography of Carl Djerassi, father of the birth-control pill.

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Carl Djerassi is the father of the birth control pill, developer of antihistamines, founder of chemical companies and teacher of world-class chemists. Blending descriptions of the lucrative world of drug development with controversial chapters on the politics of contraception and chapters about his personal and professional aspirations, this book tells the story of a productive and socially-conscious chemist. The book tells how Djerassi, at the age of 28, within a 12-month period, working in an obscure laboratory in Mexico City, first synthesized cortisone and then the pill. The book describes his reaction to criticism from feminists that the pill was unsafe and reflected the scientific community's sexism. Finally, the book chronicles Djerassi's career at the pinnacle of success in business and academia and his metamorphosis into a socially-conscious scientist, culminating in his founding of one of the first environmentally-aware pesticide companies. Carl Djerassi is the author of "Cantor's Dilemma" and "The Politics of Contraception".