Dr Carl Djerassi, the author of this volume, is more than a writer. He is a chemist, who, at age 28, led the team at Syntex that synthetized the first oral contraceptive agent. He has the view of an industrialist who saw this product marketed. He has wrestled with the problems of making oral contraceptives acceptable to government bodies, consumer advocate groups, and women's liberation organizations. Djerassi states that the contents of this book have simmered within him until they reached the boiling point and were put on paper as a personal outpouring. It is a cry of dismay, which brings him to say that the future of contraception is shaped more by politics than by science.
The book's first three chapters provide basic information about the pill and other forms of contraception. In the next three chapters Djerassi introduces us to a wonderland of politics, where he seems to