The Poison Line: A True Story of Death, Deception and Infected Blood

Author:   Cara McGoogan
Publisher:   Penguin Books Ltd
ISBN:  

9780241627501


Pages:   416
Publication Date:   21 September 2023
Format:   Hardback
Availability:   In Print   Availability explained
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The Poison Line: A True Story of Death, Deception and Infected Blood


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Overview

The shocking true story of how a miracle cure became a deadly poison, and the lengths that big pharma and government went to cover it up 'Essential reading' Jonathan Freedland, author of The Escape Artist 'Cara McGoogan is an indefatigable detective and a born storyteller' Steve Coll, author of Ghost Wars It has been called the worst treatment disaster in the NHS's history. But when it was first used Factor VIII was pitched as a medical miracle- a drug made from human plasma that enabled haemophiliacs to lead lives free of fear that a minor injury would prove fatal. But in the 1980s, tens of thousands of haemophiliacs began to test positive with HIV and AIDS. Their life-saving treatment Factor VIII was infected. Award-winning journalist and host of the Bed of Lies podcast Cara McGoogan traces the line of infection, corruption and corporate greed back to four pharmaceutical companies who sourced plasma from American prisons, nightclubs and on Skid Row in LA, turned it into Factor VIII, and then sold it around the world. Plasma is a multi-billion-dollar business- even when HIV contamination was discovered in the blood supply, Factor VIII continued to be used. In the UK alone, some 1,500 people would die from HIV and hepatitis C infections. There was a scramble to cover-up any wrongdoing on the part of various institutions, pharmaceutical companies, politicians and doctors. Defying the odds after a decade of illness, death and unanswered questions, patients started to survive - and they wanted to fight. Survivors had no choice but to become campaigners. A Public Inquiry was launched. The Poison Line asks some of the most searching questions facing us today- Who can we trust? Whose lives are expendable? And how does wrongdoing get covered up? In a masterly work of narrative and storytelling, this book brings the full truth out into the light for the very first time. 'An important and mostly unknown story of pharmaceutical malfeasance and greed with devastating and lethal consequences' Gerald Posner, author of Pharma- Greed, Lies, and the Poisoning of America

Full Product Details

Author:   Cara McGoogan
Publisher:   Penguin Books Ltd
Imprint:   Viking
Dimensions:   Width: 16.20cm , Height: 3.70cm , Length: 24.00cm
Weight:   0.648kg
ISBN:  

9780241627501


ISBN 10:   0241627508
Pages:   416
Publication Date:   21 September 2023
Audience:   General/trade ,  Professional and scholarly ,  College/higher education ,  General ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print   Availability explained
This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us.

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Reviews

Told with page-turning pace, a forensic grasp of detail and deep human compassion, The Poison Line is the gripping tale of a terrible scandal. It turns on the hubris of doctors, the folly of politicians and, above all, the greed of some of the world's biggest drug companies. At its centre, are the people - many of them children - who trusted those who promised to heal them and paid an unforgivable price for that trust. In telling their story, and laying bare a cover-up maintained over four decades, Cara McGoogan has done them - and all of us - an essential service -- Jonathan Freedland, author of The Escape Artist This is an absolutely invaluable work of investigation, a book that terrifies and enrages, and a ferociously brave model of truth-telling -- Juliet Nicolson * author of Frostquake * This deeply moving account of the infected blood scandal is a must read. Though devastating, the humanity and courage of the patients and campaigners shines through on every page. I loved this book -- Dr Jim Down * author of Life in the Balance * Cara McGoogan is an indefatigable detective and a born storyteller -- Steve Coll, author of Ghost Wars, two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, staff writer at The New Yorker A riveting story of pharmaceutical and government malfeasance and cover up that left a trail of death and misery in its wake. Cara McGoogan's in-depth reporting and seamless writing makes The Poison Line the definitive account of one of modern medicine's most chilling scandals -- Gerald Posner, Pulitzer Prize Finalist and author of Pharma: Greed, Lies, and the Poisoning of America An incredibly powerful and important piece of reporting filled with so much anger and sadness from the first to last page -- Heather Darwent, author of The Things We Do To Our Friends My first introduction to Cara McGoogan's work was her expertly researched and presented Bed of Lies, not only a masterclass in compelling storytelling in audio but also on holding power to account. Her journalistic instinct to illuminate corruption and institutional abuse, partnered with her delicate and nuanced style, makes her work unmissable -- Alice Levine, TV and radio presenter, and host of the Wondery podcast British Scandal Cara McGoogan is a dogged reporter whose investigation is a timely one. I can't wait to read her book -- Joshua Hunt, author of University of Nike


Told with page-turning pace, a forensic grasp of detail and deep human compassion, The Poison Line is the gripping tale of a terrible scandal. It turns on the hubris of doctors, the folly of politicians and, above all, the greed of some of the world's biggest drug companies. At its centre, are the people - many of them children - who trusted those who promised to heal them and paid an unforgivable price for that trust. In telling their story, and laying bare a cover-up maintained over four decades, Cara McGoogan has done them - and all of us - an essential service -- Jonathan Freedland, author of The Escape Artist Cara McGoogan is an indefatigable detective and a born storyteller -- Steve Coll, author of Ghost Wars, two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, staff writer at The New Yorker A riveting story of pharmaceutical and government malfeasance and cover up that left a trail of death and misery in its wake. Cara McGoogan's in-depth reporting and seamless writing makes The Poison Line the definitive account of one of modern medicine's most chilling scandals -- Gerald Posner, Pulitzer Prize Finalist and author of Pharma: Greed, Lies, and the Poisoning of America My first introduction to Cara McGoogan's work was her expertly researched and presented Bed of Lies, not only a masterclass in compelling storytelling in audio but also on holding power to account. Her journalistic instinct to illuminate corruption and institutional abuse, partnered with her delicate and nuanced style, makes her work unmissable -- Alice Levine, TV and radio presenter, and host of the Wondery podcast British Scandal Cara McGoogan is a dogged reporter whose investigation is a timely one. I can't wait to read her book -- Joshua Hunt, author of University of Nike


Told with page-turning pace, a forensic grasp of detail and deep human compassion, The Poison Line is the gripping tale of a terrible scandal. It turns on the hubris of doctors, the folly of politicians and, above all, the greed of some of the world's biggest drug companies. At its centre, are the people - many of them children - who trusted those who promised to heal them and paid an unforgivable price for that trust. In telling their story, and laying bare a cover-up maintained over four decades, Cara McGoogan has done them - and all of us - an essential service -- Jonathan Freedland, author of The Escape Artist This is an absolutely invaluable work of investigation, a book that terrifies and enrages, and a ferociously brave model of truth-telling -- Juliet Nicolson * author of Frostquake * This deeply moving account of the infected blood scandal is a must read. Though devastating, the humanity and courage of the patients and campaigners shines through on every page. I loved this book -- Dr Jim Down * author of Life in the Balance * Cara McGoogan is an indefatigable detective and a born storyteller -- Steve Coll, author of Ghost Wars, two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, staff writer at The New Yorker A riveting story of pharmaceutical and government malfeasance and cover up that left a trail of death and misery in its wake. Cara McGoogan's in-depth reporting and seamless writing makes The Poison Line the definitive account of one of modern medicine's most chilling scandals -- Gerald Posner, Pulitzer Prize Finalist and author of Pharma: Greed, Lies, and the Poisoning of America My first introduction to Cara McGoogan's work was her expertly researched and presented Bed of Lies, not only a masterclass in compelling storytelling in audio but also on holding power to account. Her journalistic instinct to illuminate corruption and institutional abuse, partnered with her delicate and nuanced style, makes her work unmissable -- Alice Levine, TV and radio presenter, and host of the Wondery podcast British Scandal Cara McGoogan is a dogged reporter whose investigation is a timely one. I can't wait to read her book -- Joshua Hunt, author of University of Nike


There is no better account of the blood contamination scandal than Bed of Lies, the podcast written and presented by Cara McGoogan. And no one is better placed than her to tell this harrowing, urgent story with the scope and depth of a book. With her trademark empathy, clarity and dogged persistence, The Poison Line promises to be essential reading -- Jonathan Freedland, Guardian columnist and author of The Escape Artist Cara McGoogan is an indefatigable detective and a born storyteller -- Steve Coll, author of Ghost Wars, two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, staff writer at The New Yorker My first introduction to Cara McGoogan's work was her expertly researched and presented Bed of Lies, not only a masterclass in compelling storytelling in audio but also on holding power to account. Her journalistic instinct to illuminate corruption and institutional abuse, partnered with her delicate and nuanced style, makes her work unmissable -- Alice Levine, TV and radio presenter, and host of the Wondery podcast British Scandal The Poison Line is an important and mostly unknown story of pharmaceutical malfeasance and greed with devastating and lethal consequences. Cara McGoogan is a gifted reporter and writer who has already made great progress in unravelling this mystery. She is the ideal journalist to uncover the sweeping depth of this explosive scandal -- Gerald Posner, Pulitzer Prize Finalist and author of Pharma: Greed, Lies, and the Poisoning of America Cara McGoogan is a dogged reporter whose investigation is a timely one. I can't wait to read her book -- Joshua Hunt, author of University of Nike


Author Information

Cara McGoogan is the Telegraph's first Narrative Audio Journalist. She is the award-winning writer and host of the documentary podcast Bed of Lies, which investigates major scandals people should know more about. Cara won a Society of Editors' Press Award for News Podcast of the Year and a British Journalism Award for Features Journalism; Bed of Lies was Podcast of the Year at the Publisher Podcast Awards and won a Lovie Award for Best Crime and Justice Podcast. In 2022, Cara was awarded the Stern-Bryan Fellowship at the Washington Post. The Poison Line is her first book.

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