What connects the famous magician Mandrake to a lifesaving drug such as atropine? What link is there between the beautiful cherry blossom trees of Washington and the discovery of adrenaline? Is it true that the ambulance and triage systems were borne after the terrible experiences of t soldiers on the Napoleonic War battlefield? What is the "sweet whiskey" that allowed for major surgical operations in the past?

The answers to these questions and other anecdotes and curiosities, are presented in From Last Hope to First Aid: Stories from the History of Emergency Medicine. In search of the origin of practices, drugs, and devices present today on our ambulances and in our hospitals and emergency rooms, we get a passionate glimpse into the history of emergency, meeting the founding fathers of medicine. We get to know more deeply the brilliant doctors and passionate pioneers who with their greatest inventions have revolutionized the way we live and survive.

In 37 short and fresh chapters, independent of each other, we take an extraordinary journey into the history of medicine, science and humanism. Every big or small step has been animated with love, passion, and dreams toward one single goal: saving the life of another person.