Blood is one of our most precious commodities, making it possible to save trauma patients, diagnose illness and uncover the deepest genetic traits. It can also be one of the most dangerous, creating malignancies and transmitting deadly infections. Each of us has nine pints of it—thus the title of Rose George’s “journey through the money, medicine, and mysteries of blood,” as her subtitle has it. Mixing medical history and social commentary, Ms. George addresses a wide range of topics, from the earliest uses of leeches to suck blood out of patients to the development of today’s sophisticated blood-banking industry.

Source: Wall Street Journal October 29, 2018 22:30 UTC