The Great Secret: The Classified World War II Disaster that Launched the War on Cancer

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Jennet Conant

The Great Secret

The Classified World War II Disaster that Launched the War on Cancer

Jennet Conant

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English

Grove Press / Atlantic Monthly Press
30 November 2021

History; Second World War; History of medicine

On the night of December 2, 1943, the Luftwaffe bombed a critical Allied port in Bari, Italy, sinking seventeen ships and killing over a thousand servicemen and hundreds of civilians. Caught in the surprise air raid was the John Harvey, an American Liberty ship carrying a top-secret cargo of 2,000 mustard bombs to be used in retaliation if the Germans resorted to gas warfare.

After young sailors began suddenly dying with mysterious symptoms, Lieutenant Colonel Stewart Alexander, a doctor and chemical weapons expert, was dispatched to investigate. He quickly diagnosed mustard gas exposure, which Churchill denied. Undaunted, Alexander defied British officials and persevered with his investigation. His final report on the Bari casualties was immediately classified, but not before his breakthrough observations about the toxic effects of mustard on white blood cells caught the attention of Colonel Cornelius P. Rhoads - a pioneering physician and research scientist as brilliant as he was arrogant and self-destructive - who recognized that the poison was both a killer and a cure, and ushered in a new era of cancer research.

Deeply researched and beautifully written, The Great Secret is the remarkable story of how horrific tragedy gave birth to medical triumph.

By: Jennet Conant
Imprint: Grove Press / Atlantic Monthly Press
Country of Publication: United States
Edition: Main
Dimensions: Height: 198mm, Width: 129mm, Spine: 28mm
Weight: 373g
ISBN: 9781611854541
ISBN 10: 1611854547
Pages: 400
Publication Date: 30 November 2021
Audience: College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , General/trade , Primary , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Prologue: ""Little Pearl Harbor"" Chapter One: ""A Regiment of Wizards"" Chapter Two: ""The Die Is Cast"" Chapter Three: ""Angels in Long Underwear"" Chapter Four: ""Journey into the Nightmare"" Chapter Five: ""A Special Affinity"" Chapter Six: ""Recommendation to Secrecy"" Chapter Seven: ""Magnum Opus"" Chapter Eight: ""Forgotten Front"" Chapter Nine: ""A Riddle Wrapped in a Mystery"" Chapter Ten: ""Frontal Attack"" Chapter Eleven: Trials and Tribulations Chapter Twelve: ""The Sword and the Ploughshare"" Epilogue: Belated Justice

Jennet Conant is the author of the New York Times bestsellers The Irregulars and Tuxedo Park. A former journalist, she has written for Vanity Fair, Esquire, GQ, Newsweek and the New York Times.

Reviews for The Great Secret: The Classified World War II Disaster that Launched the War on Cancer

'In a history that reads like a novel, Conant connects the 1943 bombing by the Nazisof an American ship containing banned mustard gas to the development of chemotherapyas a cancer treatment.' - Editors' Choice, NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW '[A] compelling narrative. . . . fascinating.' - Wall Street Journal 'Engrossing. . . . Convey[s] a fast-paced medical detective story that demonstrates howcareful scientific observation can yield unexpected benefits and serves as a reminder ofthe difficult choices made by governments to balance public health and secrecy in mattersof security.' - Science 'Conant delights in the devilish details, the hidden, overlooked, and deeply personalstories that constitute our collective historical record. In her deft and experienced hands,readers will discover great delight as well.' - Air Mail