Lithium

the long version

The remarkable untold story of a miracle drug, the forgotten pioneer who discovered it, and the fight to bring lithium to the masses. The 1949 discovery of lithium as a cure for bipolar disorder is perhaps one of the most important breakthroughs of the modern era. Brown reveals two unlikely success stories: that of John Cade, the physician whose discovery would come to save an untold number of lives and launch a pharmacological revolution, and that of a miraculous metal rescued from decades of stigmatization. Following his own restless curiosity, Cade did not have to answer to an external funding source; the pharmaceutical industry had little incentive to promote a naturally occurring drug that could not be patented. Brown reveals just how close we came to passing over this extraordinary cure. -- adapted from jacket