Overview
The "high-stakes" true story of how an absent-minded inventor and a down-on-his-luck salesman joined forces to create a onceāināaāgeneration lifesaving product: "Suspenseful storytelling helps us see and feel the struggle and frustration, the sweat and tears . . . Inspiringā (Robert Kolker, #1Ā New York TimesĀ bestselling author ofĀ Hidden Valley Road).
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At the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu, dramatized by the popular filmĀ Black Hawk Down, the majority of soldiersĀ who died were killed instantly orĀ bled to death before they could reach anĀ operating table.Ā ThisĀ tragedy reinforced theĀ need forĀ a revolutionaryĀ treatment that couldĀ transform trauma medicine. So, when Frank Hursey and Bart Gullongāwho had no medical or military experienceādiscovered thatĀ a cheap, crushed rock called zeolite had bloodāclotting properties, they brought it to the military's attention. The Marines and the Navy adopted the resultingĀ product, QuikClot, immediately.Ā TheĀ Army, however, resisted. It had two products of its ownĀ being developed to prevent excessive bleeds, one of which had already cost tens of millions of dollars. The other, "Factor Seven," had a more dangerous complication: its side effects could beĀ deadly. Unwilling to let its efforts end in failureāand led by the highly influential surgeon ColonelĀ John Holcombāthe Army set outĀ to smear QuikClotās reputation.
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Over the course of six years, Hursey and Gullong engaged in an epic struggleĀ with Holcomb for recognition. Ultimately, a whistleāblower inside the Army challenged the Armyās embrace of Factor Seven, which resulted in a massive lawsuit led by the U.S. Department of Justice.Ā The lawsuit focused further attention on the financial ties between the pharmaceutical company that produced Factor Seven and Holcombās research institute.
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By withholding QuikClotāwhich later became the medical miracle of the Iraq Warāand in the use of Factor Seven with its known, life-threatening risks of heart attacks and strokes, the lives of countless soldiers were imperiled. Using deep reportage andĀ riveting prose,Ā In the BloodĀ recounts thisĀ littleāknown DavidāandāGoliath story of corruption, greed, andĀ power within the militaryāand the devastating consequences of uncheckedĀ institutional arrogance.
This book title, In the Blood (How Two Outsiders Solved a Centuries-Old Medical Mystery and Took On the US Army), ISBN: 9781538709870, by Charles Barber, published by Grand Central Publishing (May 27, 2025) is available in paperback. Our minimum order quantity is 25 copies. All standard bulk book orders ship FREE in the continental USA and delivered in 4-10 business days.
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