Blood

January 1, 1999
Starr, codirector of the graduate program in science journalism at Boston University, energetically plunges into the social, ethical, and economic history of one of the most mysterious and culturally pertinent resources in human history: our very blood. He starts with the first blood transfusion, from a calf to a man, in 1667 Paris and runs through the changing mythological landscape, medical advances, and the political (and certainly military) power associated with possessing a rich blood supply. He closes with a discussion of contemporary issues, such as the threat posed by regarding blood as a commodity. This is science writing at its best: well researched, socially relevant, and highly enjoyable. (LJ 8/98)

Starred review from August 1, 1998
From antiquity well into the nineteenth century, doctors frequently bled--extracted blood from--their patients. Indeed, Gutenberg's second publication was a calendar for bloodletting. During the early decades of the twentieth century, scientists started learning about blood types, collecting techniques, and processing methods. Karl Landsteiner, one of the great pioneers in the field, was, Starr relates, also an unusual scientist in that he was so modest that he asked Sinclair Lewis to respond for him when he received the Nobel Prize. Starr also describes the important work during World War II of Janet Vaughan, Charles Drew, and others who improved the supply of blood at home and at the front. One of "Blood"'s most fascinating episodes is about calm, perfectionist Edwin Cohn, who did so much for blood fractionation and for increasing the availability and usefulness of the parts of the life-giving substance. And then there is the quite recent story of AIDS. Starr uses humor and a knack for analogy to make many points; for example, he trenchantly notes both the Nazis' refusal to allow anything but Aryan blood into the veins of the master race and the American Red Cross' long insistence on keeping the blood of whites and blacks separate. The story of "Blood" is one of appalling greed, altruism at its best, and much in between; thoroughly documented and smoothly written, it deserves broad, continuing success. ((Reviewed August 1998))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 1998, American Library Association.)