|
|
(Larger Image)
|
Limeys: The Conquest of Scurvy
by David I. Harvie
Product Group: Book
Publisher: The History Press Ltd (2005-07-21)
ISBN: 0750939931
EAN: 9780750939935
Dewy Decimal #: 616.3940092
Paperback: 336 pages
Edition: New Ed
SKU: B431-1211
Condition: Like New
Comments: UNREAD but may have minor imperfections such as a crease or mark. In stock - quick dispatch, from an efficient and professional leading British bookselling firm.
|
Customer Reviews
|
cordialfruit
Rating  (4)
Date: 2006-08-18
Given the current obsession with food quality and nutrition, this timely book addresses the problem of vitamin deficiency and the quest for a cure for scurvy over the recent past. Long sea voyages by early explorers created many problems for the crews, not least of which was the debilitating effects of scurvy. Frequently fatal, symptoms included rotting of teeth, swelling of limbs and loss of blood. The story of the solution to the problem was suspected for many years as the lack of fresh fruit and vegetables, but why did it take so long to finally solve the affliction? The story is well told by Harvie, and of course is intimately linked to the development of new ways of preserving food for those long sea voyages. One outcome was the development of lime juice, hence the title of the book. But the problem recurred at the turn of the 20th century in expeditions to the arctic and antarctic, and it is thought that scurvy affected Captain Scott in his final fatal trip. It was not until the 1920's that the active ingredient , vitamin C, was isolated that the problem was finally solved. Ths story deserves retelling, and Harvie makes a good contribution to popularising the account. When will we see similar accounts of the conquest of rickets (vitamn D deficiency) and beri-beri (vitamin B deficiency)?
|
|
|
|
|