The Pill, Pygmy Chimps, and Degas' Horse: The Autobiography of Carl Djerassi.

New York:: Basic Books, (1992)., 1992. 8vo. viii, 319 pp. Illus., index. Quarter black gilt-stamped cloth, paper boards, dust-jacket; small remainder mark on bottom edge, else fine. ISBN: 0465057594 "Father of the birth control pill, developer of antihistamines, founder of biomedical companies, teacher of world-class chemists, best-selling novelist.. . . As The Scientist notes, "Few can match Carl Djerassi's juggling act for success and longevity." Here is Djerassi's remarkable autobiography. Blending vivid descriptions of the lucrative world of drug development with controversial chapters on the politics of contraception and poignant disclosures about his personal life, this book tells the story of one of the most productive and socially conscious chemists working today. The Pill, Pygmy Chimps, and Degas' Horse chronicles Djerassi's many successful careers in science, business, the academy, and the arts (he is a published poet and novelist, as well as the founder of an artists' colony). His growing appreciation for the soft side of science - its human and humane aspects - have long been reflected in the courses he teaches at Stanford, in the plot of his novel, Cantor's Dilemma, and in his decision to found one of the first environmentally aware pesticide companies. In this intellectually challenging book, the reader is let into the fertile mind and psyche of one of the few Renaissance men of twentieth-century science." – Jacket. "Carl Djerassi, who is a scientist, artist, philosopher and mensch all in one, has produced the very best of scientific autobiography. . . Read this book." – Stephen Jay Gould. "Delightfully unconventional. . . hilarious and wide-ranging." – Arthur C. Clarke.