I read Thomas Hager’s The Demon under the microscope: from battlefield hospitals to Nazi labs, one doctor’s heroic search for the world’s first miracle drug.
It is a great read; I strongly recommend it. It talks primarily about Gerhard Domagk and his work.
As a kid, I remember taking sulfaguanidine; the book talks about the discovery of sulfa drugs and how it changed the way drugs are discovered, the way medicines are sold as well as the way medical care is provided.
I have only two complaints — I would have preferred the footnotes along with the text (even though such an approach slows down the reading) and, I would have preferred some pictures — of the players in the story, of the paintings and places that Hager talks about, along with may be the structures of some of the chemicals that make an appearance.
PS: Thanks to Doug for the recommendation (and, Flipkart which got the book delivered to me within a few days of my ordering it). Now, I am looking forward to the arrival of the second book that Doug recommended, The alchemy of air.
