Strong Medicine is a 1984 novel by Arthur Hailey. The following is a book review, with the novel itself as a "source." Image File history File links Broom_icon. ... Arthur Hailey (April 5, 1920 – November 24, 2004) was a British/Canadian novelist. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... A publisher is a person or entity which engages in the act of publishing. ... Dell Publishing was an American publisher of books, magazines, and comic books. ... 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday. ... The barcode of an ISBN . ... Arthur Hailey (April 5, 1920 – November 24, 2004) was a British/Canadian novelist. ...

Celia Jordan (named after Arthur Hailey's second wife, Sheila) is an ambitious young pharmaceutical saleswoman beginning in the late 1950s. Because of her gender, however, it's unlikely that she will rise above senior sales person, if that. She is married to Dr. Andrew Jordan, who is worried about the new Thalidomide drug when it is introduced in the 1960s. Armed with this knowledge, she gets her big break when she writes a memo to senior management urging them not to sell the drug. The company's outgoing President, Eli Camperdown, personally thanks Celia from his deathbed, turning her into a company legend. Pharmacology (in Greek: pharmacon is drug, and logos is science) is the study of how chemical substances interfere with living systems. ... // Thalidomide is a sedative, hypnotic, and anti-inflammatory medication. ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from January 1, 1960 to December 31, 1969, inclusive. ...

As a result, she acquires a high-level mentor, Sam Hawthorne, and a chance at the company's fast track. Guided by Sam, she has successful tours of duty at several subsidiary operations before being nominated for corporate Vice-President of Marketing under Sam, who has ridden her coattails to the Presidency of the company. In her new role, she will be tasked with marketing the company's new pregnancy drug. Dr. Jordan smells another rat, and warns her not to push what could be the "new Thalidomide." Sam chooses instead to listen to Dr. Vincent Lord, the Director of Research, who disparages Celia's knowledge of "science," and Celia resigns in protest. When the Jordans turn out to be right, Celia is asked to return to the company as Executive Vice-President and its de-facto head, while Sam and another board member serve out "figurehead" Presidencies for legal reasons. Fast track gives the President of the United States authority to negotiate trade agreements that cannot be amended by Congress, only voted on yes or no. ... Look up De facto in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Celia is finally named President, but this is a hollow victory, because she has to deal with another problem of Vincent Lord's making that threatens to sink the company. Fortunately, she has a replacement for him; a British doctor that she hired to head up a "bootleg" research laboratory "offshore," who comes up with a blockbuster new drug. Even so, the fate of the company, and of Celia, is left hanging in the air as the novel ends.