From miracle to nightmare

A powerful, compelling, and urgently informative book about how the world is knowingly squandering two of the greatest discoveries of the modern age, with serious consequences for humanity and the natural world.

Since their discovery, antibiotics and pesticides have saved millions of lives. Today, however, overuse and systemic failures threaten to render them ineffective.

In this book, journalist Kjeld Hansen and Professor Hans Jørn Kolmos expose the growing health and environmental crises facing the world: antibiotic-resistant bacteria, deadly infections, declining biodiversity, and contaminants in drinking water. Through compelling case studies and incisive analysis, they cut through the complexity to reveal why inaction is no longer an option.

This is a story about our children, our environment, our lives, and our future.

Kjeld Hansen is a journalist and author of numerous critically acclaimed books on agriculture, the environment, and society, including The Lost Land (2008), Farewell to Danish Agriculture (2019), and the Danish translation of Silent Spring (2023).

Hans Jørn Kolmos is Professor of Clinical Microbiology and one of Denmark’s leading experts on antibiotic resistance. He is the author of How Can We Prevent Resistant Bacteria from Killing Us? (2023), as well as numerous scientific publications.