The male hormone

Paul De Kruif

As World War II came to a close, Paul de Kruif published a popularized discussion of testosterone in The Male Hormone. In it, he recounts the discovery of testosterone and his personal experience with taking the hormone as a dietary supplement. After a year of taking daily doses, the 55 year old noticed significant improvements in his muscle development, particularly in the chest and shoulders, as well as a general increase in energy levels. He described the effects of testosterone as if it were a special elixir used by “the human body to be able to build the very stuff of its own life.” The book envisioned a future where testosterone would supercharge ordinary human performance and extend the range of man’s natural vitality. Kruif was a former microbiologist turned science writer who first gained fame in 1926 for his dramatic portraits of early endocrinologists in Microbe Hunters. He was physically large and imposing, and was known as a colorful story-teller who made scientific discovery interesting to the general public. Sinclair Lewis, with whom Kruif co-authored the Pulitzer Prize winning novel, Arrowsmith, described Kruif as “the boy who’ll try anything once.” The narrative tone of the testosterone story and Kruif’s explanation of its virtues fit easily into the author’s optimistic view of its role in future medicine. Testosterone made him feel like a younger, stronger, more virulent man. It was the key to manliness and a key to youth – all young men naturally produce testosterone of their own in abundance, but as old age sets in, time eventually steals it away. Kruif knew he was reliving his youth through artificial means, but as he promised, “I will try to renew my aging tissues with testosterone as long as I can.” Though he initially feared the “contemptuous smiles” of those who doubted the power of the hormone, Kruif admitted, “I’m no longer ashamed that it’s no longer made to its old degree by my old, aging body… It’s chemical crutches. It’s borrowed manhood. It’s borrowed time. But just the same, it’s what makes bulls bulls.” [Description taken from Aharon Zorea, *Steroids (Health and Medical Issues Today)*, Greenwood Press: New York, 2014]