A New York Times reporter's eye-opening call to arms in the fight against epidemic diseases
We face a great choice. Philip Hilts, a prizewinning journalist for the New York Times and the Washington Post, argues in this report on global epidemic diseases that the world's leading nations now have the means to win the fight against ?the coming plague but they must act quickly or face grave consequences. Based on firsthand visits to disease hot spots around the world and in-depth interviews with leading researchers and other medical pioneers working on the ground,...

In this history of the Food and Drug Administration, Philip J. Hilts analyzes the century-long, continuing struggle to establish scientific standards as the basis for policymaking on food and drugs. The agency, which emerged out of the era of the robber barons and Theodore Roosevelt's desire to "civilize capitalism," was created to stop the trade in adulterated meats and quack drugs. In addition to highlighting the essential role the FDA plays in making sure that food and drugs are safe and effective, Protecting America's Health shows that FDA regulation, far from stifling...