Scurvy - How a Surgeon, a Mariner and a Gentleman Solved the greatest Medical Mystery of the Age of Sail.

Scurvy from vitamin C deficiency was a greater scourge for long-distance sail exploration prior to the nineteenth century than all other causes of death such as shipwreck or accidents. To the uninitiated, the deficiency usually has to be for one to three months with diets lacking fresh fruits and vegetables causing extreme fatigue, lethargy, bleeding gums with severe anaemia, jaundice, internal bleeding and shortness of breath as precursors to ultimate death at sea. Rarely seen these days, but the simple discovery of prevention meant that by the early 1800s, the Royal Navy was consuming 50,000 gallons of lemon juice annually. "This is both a history and a detective story involving a surgeon James Lind, the great captain James Cook and a physician Sir Gilbert Blane, with a discovery that benefited all seafaring nations and at a time when Napoleon was ready for the conquest of Europe, it irrevocably altered the course of world history."