This download is a free sample chapter from Breakthrough! How the 10 Greatest Discoveries in Medicine Saved Millions and Changed Our View of the World (ISBN: 0137137486) by Jon Queijo. Available in print and digital formats.

Read the following excerpt from the Introduction:

It's tempting to start right off with an apology for the word "breakthrough," a word that-depending on your point of view-can be as tedious as an overhyped headline or seductive as a brightly wrapped gift. Either way, it's hard to resist wondering, What breakthrough? A cure for cancer, an easy way to lose weight, the secret to living forever? But this isn't that kind of book, and apologies seem unnecessary when you're talking about the ten greatest breakthroughs in all of medicine. Sadly, none involve easy weight loss or living forever. However, all are arguably more important because they meet three essential criteria: 1) They saved, improved, or reduced suffering in millions of lives; 2) They changed the practice of medicine; and 3) They transformed our understanding of the world. That last item is too often overlooked. All medical "breakthroughs" profoundly impact health and how physicians work; far rarer are those that open our eyes to a fundamentally new way of seeing the world, giving new meaning to not only such questions as, Why do we get sick, and how do we die? but also, How are we put together and what connects us to the rest of nature?

Each of these ten breakthroughs came at a time in history when they struck humanity like a thunderbolt-a jolt of awakening followed by a palpable rise in human consciousness.

To continue reading, download this free preview of the Introduction & Chapter 1. The full book is also available for sale.