In this sixth book in the popular How Did We Find Out…? series, Dr. Asimov unfolds the step-by-step experiments that led to the discovery that small amounts of vitamins in the diet help people to become healthier and live longer. Young readers will be fascinated by the story of Vitamin C, which was discovered a few hundred years after the vitamin-deficiency disease called scurvy broke out among ship crews. Of equal interest is the development of evidence concerning the other vitamins and the progress that has been made in recent years. A thoroughly engrossing historical account complete with an index.

A good introduction to the subject for its target audience, but Asimov tells the dramatic story about the discovery of vitamins and their significance in lots of other places aimed at older audiences (and which adults would likely prefer), starting with The Chemicals of Life (well, starting with Biochemistry and Human Metabolism, actually) and moving on through Asimov’s New Guide to Science.