Book to Note

Jie Jack Li. Triumph of the Heart: The Story of Statins. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009. 224 pp. $29.95.

Reviewed by Hilary Domush

Jie Jack Li chronicles the history of statin drug development by focusing on Pfizer’s blockbuster drug Lipitor in Triumph of the Heart. The early chapters provide a historical and chemical overview, but instead of then transitioning to the crux of the statin story, Li sidetracks into the development of the pharmaceutical industry before settling on Lipitor. Arguing that the golden era of drug development has passed, Li claims patent-protection laws and generic drugs endanger the pharmaceutical industry and its blockbuster products. It is unclear what level of familiarity with the subject readers are expected to have as the main story is muddled by smaller vignettes on pharmaceutical history, leaving the reader wondering whether the story of statins alone was not enough to engage an audience.