Other Books

Marie Curie was long idealized as a selfless and dedicated scientist, not entirely of this world. But Quinn’s Marie Curie is, on the contrary, a woman of passion — born in Warsaw under the repressive regime of the Russian czars, outspokenly committed to the cause of a free Poland, deeply in love with her husband Pierre but also, after his tragic death, capable of loving a second time and of standing up against the cruel, xenophobic attacks which resulted from that love. This biography gives a full and lucid account of Marie and Pierre Curie’s scientific discoveries, placing them within the revelatory discoveries of the age….

Under the direction of Hallie Flanagan, a daring 5-foot dynamo, the Federal Theater Project managed to turn a WPA relief program into a platform for some of the most cutting-edge theater of its time. This unique experiment by the U.S. government in support of the arts electrified audiences with exciting, controversial productions, created by some of the greatest figures in 20th century American arts—including Orson Welles, John Houseman and Sinclair Lewis. Plays like Voodoo Macbeth and The Cradle Will Rock stirred up politicians by defying segregation and putting the spotlight on the inequities that led to the Great Depression….

German-born psychoanalyst Karen Horney was the first who dared take issue with Freud’s ideas about female sexuality—in particular his theory of penis envy. She argued that women’s envy of men resulted from their inferior status in a male-dominated world, rather than their physiology. There are reasons, she insisted, for men to envy women, who have the ability to bear children. One of the first female medical students in Germany, and one of the first doctors in Berlin to undergo psychoanalytic training, Horney became a charismatic and controversial figure in American psychoanalysis when she settled in New York in the 1930’s….

In the never-ending war between science and disease, the heroes are many, the victories few. Human Trials is the gripping story of one of the battles in that war, an attack on autoimmune disease, and of the brave and hopeful patients, dedicated scientists, and bold venture capitalists who become allied in the struggle. Susan Quinn’s extraordinary story takes the reader into the closed world of experimental “human trials” in which new drugs are developed….