John Farndon 
Strange Medicine [PDF ebook] 
A History of Medical Remedies

It’s easy to take a pill when we aren’t feeling well. But did you know that the art of making medicines goes back thousands of years? Early remedies weren’t always so easy-or effective. Some seemed downright disgusting. Wine infused with a venomous snake was used to cure fatigue and hair loss. Snail slime soothed burns, and a mixture of ear wax and mud treated headaches. Discover more about how medicine was practiced centuries ago and how, eventually, scientists discovered some truly amazing remedies, from the magic bullet that treated syphilis to the insulin used for diabetes.