Product Description
Written by an immunologist, this book traces the concept of immunity from ancient times up to the present day, examining how changing concepts and technologies have affected the course of the science.It shows how the personalities of scientists and even political and social factors influenced both theory and practice in the field.With fascinating stories of scientific disputes and shifting scientific trends, each chapter examines an important facet of this discipline that has been so central to the development of modern biomedicine.With its biographical dictionary of important scientists, its lists of significant discoveries and books, this volume will provide the most complete historicalreference in the field.

. Written in an elegant style by long-time practicing immunologist
. Discusses the changing theories and technologies that guided the field
. Tells of the exciting disputes among prominent scientists
. Lists all the important discoveries and books in the field
. Explains in detail the many Nobel prize-winning contributions of immunologists ... Read more

Product Description
Because of its unique adaptability and resistance to many antibacterial drugs and antiseptics, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a nosocomial menace of the present day. It has invaded medical and surgical wards in hospitals, infecting patients already ill or recovering, and endangering clean surgical operations, encouraged by overcrowding and limited air circulation. It has now spread from hospitals to families and communities. Infection control microbiologists and the Public Health Laboratory Service developed assays, 'phage typing and other tests to identify strains, with better understanding of their behaviour aided by the discovery of the mecA gene. This Seminar addressed the biological reasons for this behaviour; the difference between resistant and non-resistant strains; the development, evolution and elucidation of drug resistance in hospital infection and its geographical distribution. Suggested by Professor Gordon Stewart and chaired by Dr Robert Bud, surgeons, microbiologists, infection control experts and representatives of the pharmaceutical industry and of the public included: Professor Graham Ayliffe, Professor Mark Casewell, Dr Bilwanath Chattopadhyay, Dr Stephanie Dancer, Dr Bernard Dixon, Dr Georgia Duckworth, Professor Brian Duerden, Professor Michael Emmerson, Professor Gary French, Professor Curtis Gemmell, Professor Alan Glynn, Dr Ian Gould, Professor David Greenwood, Professor Jeremy Hamilton-Miller, Dr Angela Kearns, Dr Bill Newsom, Professor Ian Phillips, Dr Tyrone Pitt, Dr Elizabeth Price, Professor Sir Mark Richmond, Dr Geoffrey Scott, Dr Joe Selkon, Dr David Shanson, Dr Norman Simmons, Professor Dale Smith, Professor Brian Spratt, Dr Robert Sutherland, Professor John West. ... Read more

Product Description
We are swamped with information and each day seems to bring new discoveries that must be considered. Never before in the history of science have so many scientists been as active as today. It has become a major problem for the expert just to keep up with the literature in his or her own field of research. Why, then, should experts and their poor students worry about the pioneers of microbiology, those half-forgotten scientists who a century ago devoted their lives to a new science that was on its way to revolutionizing medicine?

With so many new facts and problems screaming for our attention, it is easy to lose sight of the long road that we have travelled in order to get to the point where we are now. Tracing the path of those who have gone before us will help us to see our own scientific goals and efforts in a more revealing perspective.

The great figures who are at the center of interest in this book — Robert Koch, Emil von Behring, Paul Ehrlich and Elie Metchnikoff — were far from uncontroversial during their lifetimes. It is interesting to see how they were judged by their peers at the Karolinska Institutet when they were considered for the Nobel Prize.

Pioneers of Microbiology and the Nobel Prize has been written in such a way that it can be enjoyed even without an extensive knowledge of microbiology and medicine. In fact, a considerable part of the book portrays the state of medicine during the middle of the 19th century, when bacteriology can be said to have made its debut on the medical scene. ... Read more

Product Description
The book summarises the current understanding of the Nervous -, Endocrine and Immune systems with emphasis on shared mediators and receptors and functional interaction. In addition to the fundamental physiological and pathophysiological mechanisms, which are presented in detail, some clinically relevant subjects are also presented, such as inflammation, asthma and allergy, autoimmune disease, immunodeficiency and the acute phase response.

• A comprehensive presentation of neuroimmune biology

• Introduces the subject matter to the uninformed reader

• Contains basic information, theoretical considerations and up-to-date clinical chapters

• The clinical chapters will be helpful to practising physicians

... Read more

Product Description
This superbly illustrated work provides short accounts of the lives and scientific contributions of all of the major pioneers of Tropical Medicine. Largely biographical, the stories discussed enlighten a new generation of scientists to the advances made by their predecessors. Written by Gordon Cook, contributor to the hugely popular Manson's Tropical Diseases, this report discusses the pioneers themselves and offers a global accounting of their experiences at the onset of the discipline. ... Read more

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Incorporating many rare photographs from the family albums of survivors who tell their stories, Harvard professor Julie Silver, M.D., and historian Daniel Wilson help readers understand the sheer terror that gripped parents of young children every spring and summer during the first half of the 20th century as polio epidemics ran rampant. Interviewed as part of the Polio Oral History Project directed by Silver and funded by Harvard, foundations, and private donors, the people featured in this book describe what is arguably the most feared scourge of modern times. Testimonies are included from people who worked in polio wards, as well as from those involved in worldwide eradication efforts. The book also addresses the emergence of the polio and disability rights movement, the challenges of post-polio syndrome, and the state of polio research and developments today. And it explores the concern that polio could return in an even more vicious form as a result of bioterrorism.

Customer Reviews (1)

A really moving and meticulously researched book
This is a deeply moving and really well researched book that unflinchingly shows the human stories behind the American polio epidemics in the earlier part of he twentieth century. The book is full of human stories, some deeply sad, some highly inspirational, all poignant. It is a book I have found very special: a testament to human courage and, in the end, a chronicle of the wonderful discovery of the polio vaccine that has largely conquered this appalling disease. ... Read more

Product Description
A wide ranging study of the great epidemic scourges of humanity - plague, leprosy. smallpox, syphilis, cholera and yellow fever/malaria - over the last six centuries. Sheldon Watts, applies his perspective to the study of global disease, exploring the connections between the movement of epidemics and the manifestations of imperial power in the Americas, Asia, Africa and in European homelands. He shows how the perceptions of whom a disease targeted changed over time and effected various political and medical responses. He argues that not only did western medicine fail to cure the diseases that its own expansion engendered, but that imperial medicine was in fact an agent and tool of empire. Watts examines the relationship between the pre-modern medical profession and such epidemic disasters as the plague in western Europe and the Middle East; leprosy in the medieval west and in the 19th-century tropical world; the spread of smallpox to the new world in the age of exploration; syphilis and nonsexual diseases in Europe's connection with Asia; cholera in India during British rule; and malaria in the Atlantic basin during the eras of slavery and social Darwinism.He investigates in detail the relation between violent environmental changes and disease, and between disease and society, both in the material sphere and in the minds and spirit of rulers and those who where ruled. This book is an account of the way diseases - arising through chance, through reckless environmental change engineered by man, or through a combination of each - were interpreted in western Europe and in the colonized world. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Good Research Does Not Always Produce a Good Book
Watts' book is a series of related essays about the social construction of 6 major diseases. He has poured years of research into this work. The thesis of each chapter is fascinating, and most may well be correct. For example, he posits that biblical leprosy was not Hansen's Disease, and further that medieval leprosy was a social category, and that the "lepers" of that time did not have the disease. There could be something to this.

But this book cannot do better than raise the questions. There are both scientific and historical aspects to this book, but the editing did not bring the writing close to scientific standards. Many generalizations are based on a single piece of evidence. Primary sources are cited without considering that the author's comments may have been self-serving.

Epidemics and History loses its way badly when it tries to intuit the intentions of groups of people, rather than letting their actions speak for themselves. A word count would reveal unusually high frequencies for "desire," "intention," "understanding," "perception," and so forth. I wonder to what extent groups of people through history have been aware of themselves as groups, as the book assumes throughout. Further, it tries to inflame with unnecessary emotive language. Pity.

Academic anti-imperialism was the wrong voice for this work. Watts' research is interesting, theses provocative. But the writing is all wrong. Where were the editors?

If you are interested in the history of disease, you do want to know what Watts says. But the flawed writing makes this a frustrating read.

From a different point of view
Seldon Watts embarked on a very difficult and higly political issue. You may agree or disagree that imperialist powers used contagious diseases as yet another weapon but everyone has to agree that this is a new perspective in viewing history. For example, i was amazed by his analysis in Leprosy and found it to be logic, even though i don't have his sources available. Sometimes the scientific data seem a bit weak but if you want details on each and every disease there other books to consult. This book talks about politics.
I see this great book as a cry from a scientist of the ''Third world'' who reminds that science (and charity) is not as neutral as we sometimes consider it to be. Personally i believe it is a ''must'', even if you disagree with the author politically.

Anti-imperialist screed
Sheldon Watts took us on a journey of exploration of a gigantic subject, followed his political views and lost his way.This book wants to put such a strong spin on disease as as an element of conquest, that it neglects anddistorts too many facts.You can usually find the distortions by notingwhich paragraphs contain statements that treat some previously unknown factas common knowledge and then not finding an end note providing somereferences.I also noted that most of the sources for the book were lessthan ten years old, and were often teritiary.Sheldon Watts also gets hisbiological facts wrong on many occasions, usually when trying to underlinesome action he feels is imperialist.His most unpardonable sin has to beattributing current knowledge to figures who had no such understanding, andthen judging their actions using that assumption.For example, he assumesthat since people understood that smallpox was communicable, that they hadto understand that all diseases were communicable.This was long beforeKoch or even Snow.And Sheldon Watts does this even though he acknowledgesthat medical knowledge was effectively non-existant until the mid-1800s. Unless of course it is folk wisdom that he is talking about, which gets apass, no matter how silly.If you are a Powerful White Man, on the otherhand, you are assumed to be omniscient.

If you want a more limitedtreatment about the subject of diseases and public thought, I suggest thatyou try "The Cholera Years" by Charles E. Rosenberg.If you wanta good treatment of multiple diseases and their biological progressionaround the world, try "Plagues" by Christopher Wills.Those twobooks together will cost less than this one, and you'll learn more.Andthey are far, far more readable.

An excellent treatise, marred by lapses into indignation
This work is impressive in its breadth of scholarship, but the author's personal rancor at Europeans' ill treatment of the rest of the world detracts from the narrative.The descriptions of the decimation of theTaino, the Aztecs, Inca and others within a century by the Spanish is trulyhorrific.Repeatedly referring to the Spanish as "terrorists"weakens, rather than reinforces the point.They were not terrorists: theywere behaving as Europeans historically have.The author's succinctexplanation of the reasons for the Spanish attitudes toward New Worldpeoples makes his subsequent indignation with their actions curious, to saythe least.Similarly, his explanation of malaria and yellow fever isextensive, but his indignation at Europeans in response to the diseasesdetracts from his scholarship.That Europeans are arrogant, naive, biased,pig-headed, murderous and short-sighted should come as no revelation toanyone reading this book.Other peoples in the world are too, but theydidn't all have the opportunity to impose their will on others.Tocomplement this work, Diamond's Guns Germs and Steel,and MacNeill's TheRise of the West, and Plagues and Peoples cover much of the same ground andposit theories how Europeans came to be in a position to impose their willon much of the rest of the world.Overall, a very interesting book,which would be better without these occasional,distracting polemics.

solid and interesting
I found this book an excellent companion to earlier books on the subject (McNeill, Crosby), as it puts diseases in human society in a historic social/cultural and political context. I started out sceptical but then gotcaught by the book and its analyis was for me an eye-opener on how(Western) medicine was a tool often used for ends that had nothing to dowith physical well-being, sickness prevention and care. The end conclusionson economics and health economics i do not share at all, i think the authorgets carried away a bit and goes way too fast to condemn economists here,(guess what my profession is). Definitely worth while. ... Read more

Product Description
This book is concerned with the most devastating fungal diseases in history. These are the plagues of trees and crop plants, caused by invisible spores that have reshaped entire landscapes and decimated human populations. The Triumph of the Fungi focuses on the fascinating biology of the well- and lesser-known diseases, and also tells the stories of the scientists involved in their study, and of the people directly impacted by the loss of forest trees like the chestnut, and cash crops such as coffee and cacao. In a surprisingly brief time, human knowledge of the fungi that infect plants has evolved from Biblical superstition, to the recognition of the true nature of plant disease, and, more recently, to a sense of awe for the sophistication of these microbes. The crucial issue of human culpability in these fungal epidemics is addressed in the books closing chapter. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Laugh While You Learn
Could a book on fungus make you laugh out loud?If the book in question is Dr. Nicholas Money's wonderful The Triumph of the Fungi, it certainly could. I laughed the whole way through, starting with the subtitle - A Rotten History, and learned so much along the way.

Each chapter of the book tackled a crop I take for granted, describing how it gained prominence, revealing who it enriched, and delving into what fungus destroyed or has the power to destroy it.Dr. Money tied in the historical aspects of each mycological disaster, making the book easy going, even for a nonscientist. As an English major, I only took two semesters of biology, so it would have been easy to lose me in the details.The numerous real-life examples, comparisons, quips, and allusions, however, made what would have been dry and inaccessible material in another author's hands fresh and fun.

Before this book, I knew nothing about how dangerous monocultures are and how at risk current farming practices make us.I had only a glimmer of how complex the life cycles of fungi are.I certainly didn't realize how impossible it is for fungicides to keep up with the rapidity of evolution in the fungal world.And now I do.

It took me months to read this book because I'm a teacher and, during the school year, I only get to read in 15-minute "Silent Reading" intervals.This kind of interrupted reading makes even great books take a loooong time to finish.To Dr. Money's credit, the book was so well written that even a sporadic reader found it easy to pick up where she left off and forge on. It's a rare book that entertains as well as it educates; Triumph of the Fungi does just that.

Manifesto against monocultures
Apart from some strained attempts at humour, starting with the subtitle, Nicholas Money has produced an excellent book.The book is a well-organised and expressively written presentation of how various fungi [and their relations] have and are assaulting valuable trees and crops around the planet.With excellent graphics to support the text, the author describes how fungal infections have attacked decorative or lumber tree species, such as the chestnut and jarrah, crop plants like coffee, potatoes and rubber.He explains how the infections were detected and investigated by various researchers and what steps have been taken to curb or eliminate the infestation.The latter point is the one that should prompt the reader's close attention.

Although to many people, the blight causing the Irish Potato Famine may be the best known of fungal infections, Money opens with a story of the extermination of the American Chestnut.The account shows how little was known of fungi life cycles at the turn of the last century.Coping with the spreading infection was sporadic and ineffective.The spores, Money calculates, spread at the rate of over 100 metres per day.Small wonder governments failed to address the epidemic successfully.Control, in any case, would have meant an interdict on seed and seedling importation and transport, a multi-million dollar business.Such a draconian imposition would have raised the ire of business and governments alike.So we lost the chestnut.And the elm.The oaks and redwoods in California are presently under threat from a similar infestation.How can microbes be so destructive and apparently so immune to counter-measures?

Fungi are insidious in their invasive tactics and are talented breeders.Not only may a species have multiple mechanisms for breeding, many actually breed across species to create hybrids.These cross-bred organisms are highly adaptable to changing conditions.In fact, variations in environment may prompt species' mix to address the change.The breeding of multiple species may have immense impact, since some fungi may infect more than a hundred different types of plants.Money demonstrates mixed feelings as he describes some fungi as "the most exuberant swingers of the microbial world".It's an amazing capacity in such a simple organism.The genome of some species is nearly the size of a human's - but, far more importantly, the large genome imparts the ability to change rapidly as needed.This is one reason why so many fungi aren't "species-specific" in their infections.

In his descriptions of the historical efforts to identify the various rusts, blights, blasts and bunts attacking plants, Money recounts the efforts of investigators.There are the losers who went along almost fantastic idea tracks, attributing infections to malodorous mists and even moonlight.More rational researchers found ways of tracking infectors and how they operated.His first hero is Henry Murrill, who struggled to cope with the American chestnut epidemic that originated in the Bronx Zoo grounds in 1904.Rev. Miles Berkeley, working in limited circumstances, produced a landmark essay on the cause and effect of fungal infection of the "Irish" potato.Money's chapter heading, "Potato Soup" is telling as a descriptor.

Farther afield, Money admires the work achieved by a group of women in the Netherlands.Johanna Westerdijk, Christine Buisman and Marie Schwarz all made key contributions in revealing the mechanics of what is known as Dutch elm disease.Some of this work provided pointers to the evolutionary path of these fungi, information being applied elsewhere.Money's real praise, however, reaches further back in time in lauding two French scientific pioneers.Mathieu Tillet and Benedict Prevost proved to be the first to apply sound research methods in determining how plant disease operates.He would have this pair granted Nobel Prizes if the rules allowed posthumous awards.He notes that in France experimental research was held in low regard in their day.It was a serious uphill climb for them to gain recognition for their work.

It's not an uphill struggle to read this book, however.Money, who has published other works on mycology - the study of fungus - has an admirable way of making his point.The point here is that with fungi so adaptive, so easily disseminated over vast distances and so difficult to eradicate, the human species stands in some peril of indirectly succumbing to its effects.Wheat, maize, cocoa, coffee and rubber may join chestnuts in disappearing from our ken.These products are fundamental to our society, and more research must be undertaken to reveal how to address the problem.With so many of these crops being clones of earlier strains, their vulnerability is high, as is ours as a result.Read this and find out what you may be confronting.[stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

An alright book
As I had read the author's other books on fungi I thought this one would be great. I was wrong. It fine for folks who know little about fungi and their influences in the world but not of much value otherwise. Mr Money can do better.

Fantastic book!
It is often said that the cockroaches will outlast us--but Nicholas Money's new book convinces me it will be the fungi who triumph in the end. This wonderful, terrifying book details the devastation wrought by the fungi and our feeble efforts to keep them at bay. How is it possible that a book with such a grim message is a page-turner that makes you laugh out-loud on nearly every page? Because this guy can WRITE. Money is the Steven Jay Gould of mycology, the Richard Dawkins of the fungi, and this book is fantastic. ... Read more

Product Description
The story of viruses and the story of humanity has been intertwined since the dawn of history. In "Viruses, Plagues, and History", Michael B.A. Oldstone illuminates the history of these devastating diseases that have tormented humanity, from smallpox and the influenza epidemic to Ebola, Hantavirus, and AIDS. 42 halftone illustrations. 22 linecuts.Amazon.com Review
Had it not been for viruses, the U.S. and Canada might today be one country; the African slave trade may not have been as extensive; and the Spanish almost certainly wouldn't have conquered the Aztecs and other New World native peoples. In fact, viruses have affected world history more extensively than most of us can imagine. Viruses, Plagues, & History not only shows us what viruses are and how they work, but looks at what newer ones such as Ebola and HIV might mean to our future. Even more frightening, Oldstone discusses the influenza virus of 1918 to 1919--which may have killed as many as 50 million people worldwide and certainly helped England, France, and the U.S. defeat Germany in World War I--and wonders if it's due for a return visit. Granted, a book with a chapter titled "Mad Cow Disease and Englishmen: Spongiform Encephalopathies--Virus or Prion Disease?" isn't for everybody, but it's a fascinating for anyone interested in health and wellness and the medical future of our planet. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Good review of viruses
this is more of a historical book than a scientific book. It tells how viruses have changed history and talks about how history might have been if a plague did not happen. It is for a reader with a nonscientific background, as it has two chapters on basic immunology and viral characteristics. Overall, it has been an informative and well written book, although at some times dry.

Billions and Billions of casualties
This interesting book gives an introduction to virology and explains how infectious disease, in particular viral epidemic diseases, has changed human history. It describes the often heroic efforts of scientists and virologists who pioneered their identification, pathogenesis, and prevention through vaccination. The next few paragraphs will give some perspective on the importance of these efforts and the effect infectious disease has had upon human history (mostly based on the content of this book).

Small pox killed 300-500 million people in the twentieth century alone. That is about 7-12% of everyone who died in the 20th century and more than four times more deaths than caused by all the wars during the 20th century. Since 1979 not a single person has died from small pox. Small pox is an example of a success story. Other amazing success stories are the conquest over poliomyelitis, yellow fever, and measles.

Hygiene and modern medicine have together with other technological and scientific progress enabled the human population on this planet to grow from half a billion to six and a half billion people in a few hundred years, at the same time as it has improved the human condition immensely. It used to be the world wide norm that more than half of the kids died before adulthood and the average life span was 30 years or less. Not even the worst countries in the world today are that miserable. It is clear that the fight against infectious disease has greatly altered the human condition and history. It is also the major reason why we worry so much about heart disease and cancer today.

In the past migrations and conquests often resulted in plagues that changed the course of history. The great Islamic expansion across North Africa and into the Iberian Peninsula in the sixth to eight centuries spread smallpox across Africa and into Europe. The bubonic plague that killed 75 million people world wide and 25 million people in Europe was carried east from central Asia and west along the Silk Road, by Mongol armies and traders making use of the opportunities of free passage within the Mongol Empire offered by the Pax Mongolica. It was reportedly first introduced to Europe at the trading city of Caffa in the Crimea in 1347. 20-40 million people died from influenza during and soon after World War I, and the flu probably aided the allies in defeating the Germans.

The inadvertent arrival of small pox played a crucial role in the Spanish conquest of Mexico and Peru, the Portuguese colonization of Brazil, the settlement of North America by English and French, as well as the settlements of Australia. As many as 50-100 million native Americans may have died from small pox and other diseases over a few hundred years, which essentially decimated the native population. With so much of the native Indian labor force lost, the impetus grew to bring slaves from West Africa. African slaves in turn brought Yellow fever to the Americas. It should be noted that Africans had better resistance against yellow fever, and the peoples of the old world had better resistance against measles and small pox than the Native Americans had. Infectious disease often assisted conquerors, changed the outcome of battles, and changed history time and time again.

However, the fight against infectious disease continues. Malaria killed 250 million people during the 20th century, and still kills between one and three million people every year. Tuberculosis kills one to two million people every year, pneumonia kills millions of people every year, and Aids kills about two million people every year.

This book begins with an introduction to virology and the principles of immunology, and then continues by describing a few success stories (smallpox, yellow fever, measles and poliomyelitis), and next the current challenges (Lassa fever, Ebola, Hantavirus, HIV, Spongiform Encephalopathies, and Influenza), and finally it provides some future predictions. In each chapter the book describes the disease and gives an overview of the effect the various epidemics has had on history and how the fight against the disease was carried on or is carried on. The topic of the book is very interesting and important; however, the writing is a little dry. Another book on this topic that I can recommend is Man and Microbes: Disease and Plagues in History and Modern Times.

Book Review
Pros
The book gives us introduction about the different kinds of viruses and plagues that we are encountering that helps the reader to communicate about it. It is very interesting about how the book talks on the cause and effects to the people and also on its relationship to different countries and cultures. I like the book on how it refreshes my memory.In addition, this book reminds about the virulence of the viruses.Good book for reading interest or references.
Cons
I did not like some of the chapters because you need to have knowledge on their topic in order to really understand what the author wants to say.For instance, one chapter has plenty of terms that needed to understand for a novice person. Figures should be more colorful especially if they are trying to show the viruses on a microscopic view.In addition, the author should also balance of each chapter that some of the chapter tell us only small amount of information.

Good Book!
I love history and science and I thought this book was a good mix of the two. The first couple chapters are a little technical but informative and understandable. I loved reading how diseases altered the histories of empires, info that you might not necessarily read in just a straight up history book.I also really enjoyed the look at work that is presently underway to prevent future pandemics such as the avian flu and the work being put in to curb the continued spread of HIV and find an eventual cure. The stories contained in these pages makes you appreciate the period we live in and all the contributions and sacrifices made by the researchers that came before us.

Fascinating!
I ordered three books on similar subjects, "Viruses, Plagues, and History", "Man and Microbes", and "Plagues and Peoples" at the same time.Each book has something different to recommend it.My least favorite was "Plagues and Peoples".The writing was pompous and cumbersome, and while the thesis of the book, that man's relationship to society and our planet is pathogenic, is interesting, it can be conveyed in one sentence.There is not a lot of readable material about the actual history of disease in the book.I got a lot more by far out of both "Man and Microbes" and "Viruses, Plagues, and History".Both of these books are filled with interesting facts and stories of how disease has impacted human history.I will definitely keep and re-read both books.As an earlier reviewer noted, the first section of "Viruses, Plagues, and History", entitled "Introduction to the Principles of Virology" is pretty intimidating.If the science bothers the reader too much, it really doesn't hurt to skip this chapter.Maybe the rest of the book will interest the non-scientific reader enough so he will go back and read this section later.Part Two of the book is entitled "Success Stories".It contains fascinating and very graphic descriptions of some very bad diseases and interesting stories about the effects these diseases have had on the course of history.Part Three is "Present and Future Challenges", about some of the newly emerging diseases that are making headlines today.The author is a true professional in the biomedical field, and in his preface, he tells about reading "Microbe Hunters" in junior high and how it inspired him in his education and career to meet many of the foremost experts on viral diseases and become one himself. I think this is a very, very interesting book. ... Read more

Product Description
"One of the most readable medical histories ever."—Sunday Express

"A gripping read, enlightening and moving by turns."—Evening Standard

"Like an experienced suspense writer, the author of this marvelous book reserves his good news until the end. . . . One of the additional pleasures of his book lies in itsvivid parentheses, case histories, even footnotes. . . . [it is] enlivened byDormandy's mordant wit and idiosyncratic style. . . . A fine book."—Anita Brookner, The Sunday Times

"A model of how medical history ought to be written . . . lucid in itsanalysis and perspicacious in its commentary."—Peter Ackroyd, The Times of London

"This is not a book for the faint-hearted or the hypochondriac. It is, however,a fascinating account of a disease which is probably as old as man himself."—Literary Review

"Dormandy writes extremely well, with a sharp wit . . . it is impossibleto do justice to the riches to be found in this book."—The Sunday Telegraph

The victims of tuberculosis (usually known as consumption) included not only Keats, The Brontës, Chopin and Chekhov, but members of almost every family. It was a killer on a huge scale.

The White Death is an outstanding history of tuberculosis.Thomas Dormandy's engrossing account of the search for a cure is complemented by a description of its complex natural history and by portraits of individual sufferers, including writers, artists, and musicians, whose lives and work were shaped (and often tragically curtailed) by the disease.But, tuberculosis is not just a disease of the past.In many parts of the world it is still a bigger killer than AIDS, while in America and Europe drug-resistant strains threaten its resurgence. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

no title
This is a rad history if you have any interest in the subject, highly recommended. It is devoid of soft abstraction, fashionable theoretic apparatus, and similar wastage. It's repletely informed and documented, and usually fascinating. The style is distinctive but subdued and effortless.

The only (probable) error I could notice was the passing assertion that Domagk's own daughter was the first human to receive Prontosil. I have seen this claim elsewhere, but more detailed accounts of the development of Prontosil state that her treatment was in fact subsequent to the first several human trials.

Index
This book is loaded with information but it could have been much better indexed.I also wonder why no mention is made anyplace about Seaview Hospital in Staten Island, NY, which was the largest municipal TB hospital in the U.S. in the first half of the 20th century, and contributed much in the fight against TB.Then again, maybe I missed it and Seaview is mentioned, but it's not indexed.

The White Death is a force to be reckoned with!
From Antiquity, tuberculosis has been a killer on a huge scale, ever-present yet lurking rather than epidemic; its explosion in the 1800s went hand-in-hand with industrialization, abetted by bad housing, endless work hours & poverty.

For the Victorians, who elevated illness to art forms, the victims of TB were the ultimate in pale & interesting; the roll call of tuberculous genius reads like who's who of artists & writers: Keats, Chopin, the Brontes; Robert Louis Stevenson, Chekhov, Orwell, to name only a few.

Thomas Dormandy has written an engrossing account of the amazingly complex social, artistic & natural history of this ubiquitous disease as well as a telling chronicle of the medical profession at its worst & best.

This is one vitally informative, compelling & erudite volume on an affliction that has been with us since we began burying our dead, drawing on walls & writing. Make no mistake, TB is with us still! It is now mutating upon the new vectors of HIV, prisons, orphanages & multidrug resistancy.

The White Death is an impressive & eminently readable history! Do check out my eInterview with this respected author - I think you will be as amazed as I!

The Best Work on the Subject
There have been some reasonably satisfying works written on the cultural aspects of tuberculosis, and others on the scientific struggle to understand and control the disease.What makes this work unusually rewarding is that Dormandy (a consultant pathologist and medical writer) possesses the ability and education to bring together TB's medical and cultural aspects.He is equally comfortable discussing the influence of TB on the German Lied tradition and the interaction between the disease organism and the immune system.

The White Death is particularly strong on TB's influence on European high and Bohemian culture and on the stories of individual scientists and doctors involved in research and treatment.Dormandy has a bit less patience for the bureaucratic history of public health and the political intrigues of academia, a feeling I share.I particularly enjoyed the opinionated and informative footnotes.

A Consuming disease
When the whole world seemed to be suffering with flu last winter I read andthoroughly enjoyed "Flu" by Gina Kolata. I caught the sickness bug (bad pun) and read several more social-history books about deadly diseases and living conditions in the past, and Dormandy's "TheWhite Death" was by far the best. We readers are all familiar with theidea of the limp, frail tubercular Victorian who is tragically going towaste away before his magnus opus is finished, but do we realise that untilfairly recently, tuberculosis was so common - in fact expected in certaincircles - that the wasted tubercular look was actually fashionable amongstthe artistic and indolent (early heroine-chic?)? This very readable bookcharts the long and difficult fight between the medical establishment andtuberculosis - a disease that wasn't fussy who it struck or where itstruck. Of course, the poor slum-dwellers didn't stand a chance, buthistory does not record their names.What is striking is how many wellknown figures it hastened to an early grave - some of the finest artists,writers and minds of Europe, including the Brontës, Keats, Modigliani,Chekhov, D.H. Lawrence, Katherine Mansfield and George Orwell. It alsorampaged through several royal households at various times. What made it socruel was its slowness and the way it toyed with its victims. Availed withall that quackery could offer, the patient could have several seeming"recoveries" before eventually fading. Dormandy describes some ofthe practises of doctors in their battle against tuberculosis - you willhave to read them for yourself! Gradually inroads were made by thescientific community but only after generations of sickness. Incredibly itwas a long time before the idea of quarantine caught on (in Italy)! Aninteresting and readable medical and social history that becomes morecompelling when you know that tuberculosis is again on the rise.Drug-resistant strains have been found, and it seems that whilst battlesmay have been won, the war may still be lost. ... Read more

Product Description
The history of molecular biology begins in the 1930s with the convergence of various, previously distinct biological disciplines: biochemistry, genetics, microbiology, and virology. With the hope of understanding life at its most fundamental level, numerous physicists and chemists also took an interest in what would become molecular biology. In its modern sense, molecular biology attempts to explain the phenomena of life starting from the macromolecular properties that generate them. Two categories of macromolecules in particular are the focus of the molecular biologist: 1) nucleic acids, among which the most famous is deoxyribonucleic acid (or DNA), the constituent of genes, and 2) proteins, which are the active agents of living organisms. One definition of the scope of molecular biology therefore is to characterize the structure, function and relationships between these two types of macromolecules. This relatively limited definition will suffice to allow us to establish a date for the so-called "molecular revolution", or at least to establish a chronology of its most fundamental developments. ... Read more

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Product Description
Proteins are amazing molecules. They spark the chemical reactions that form the basis for life, transmit signals in the body, identify and kill foreign invaders, form the engines that make us move, record visual images. For every task in a living organism, there is a protein designed to carry it out. Nature's Robots is an authoritative history of protein science, from the earliest research in the nineteenth century to the most recent findings today. Tanford and Reynolds, who themselves made major contributions to the golden age of protein science, have written a remarkably vivid account of this history. The authors begin with the research of Berzelius and Mulder into 'albumins,' the early name for proteins, and the range all the way up to the findings of James Watson and Francis Crick. It is a fascinating story, involving heroes from the past, working mostly alone or in small groups, usually with little support from formal research grants. They capture the growing excitement among scientists as the mysteries of protein structure and function--the core of all the mysteries of life--are revealed little by little. And they include vivid portraits of scientists at work--two researchers, stranded by fog in a Moscow airport, strike up a conversation that leads to a major discovery; a chemist working in a small lab, with little funding, on a problem no one else would tackle, proves that enzymes are proteins--and wins the Nobel Prize. Written in clear and accessible prose, Nature's Robots will appeal to anyone interested in the peaks and valleys of scientific research.Amazon.com Review
Proteins make it possible for us to digest food, to battle disease, to breathe, to move; they underlie life itself. Only in the last 200 years have scientists come to understand how these proteins, or "foremost things," work. How they did so is the subject of this welcome history of protein science.

It doesn't diminish our pleasure in such things to know that the aroma coming from a cooked ham is generated by the reaction of maltose and glutamic acid, while the heavenly scent of chocolate comes from the interaction of phenylalaine and sucrose. Tanford and Reynolds aren't exactly given to rhapsodizing, but they write appreciatively nonetheless of advances such as Franz Hofmeister's identification of the "peptide bond" that joins amino acids in proteins, John Kendrew's work in understanding the three-dimensional structure of myoglobin, and the efforts of modern researchers who, joining protein science to cell biology and genetics, are now working to solve the structures of more than 10,000 protein families.

General readers and students with an interest in the life sciences will find this well-written history to be of much use--and the best of its kind. --Gregory McNamee ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Engrossing, entertaining and erudite history of proteins
Nature's Robots by Charles Tanford and Jacqueline Reynolds encompasses history, mythology, mystery, controversies, discoveries, mistakes, excitements, and scientific understanding of proteins. To bring so many different aspects of a subject into one book requires keen insight and clear perspective that only seasoned writers and scientists can possess. Both the authors belong to the select category of scholars of the field who witnessed and participated in the remarkable studies and discoveries related to structure and function of proteins. Proteins are biomolecules, and proteins are macromolecules. They consist of hundreds of atoms linked together by covalent bonds, groups of atoms interacting by hydrogen bonds or even hydrophobic associations. The specific atoms are organized into sequences, into amino acids that provide the resulting molecule with specific structure and function. The macroscopic living beings as well as microbes and microscopic constituents of living beings are in effect colonies, cultures, assemblies, collections, societies of proteins. Every proteins is surrounded by ions, ligands, solvents like water, fatty acids and other proteins; and every minute of proteins involves complex and beautiful interplay of physical and chemical interactions and entropy. The complexity and richness of their structure and function is and was the source of perplexity and curiosity of scientists. Questions that seem settled in twenty-first century, for example "Can macromolecules exist?", were once source of acrimony and debate. The book is a source of endless examples of how ideas and concepts emerged, sometimes the originators of ideas got the credit, sometimes original ideas came too early and were discarded by the establishment, only to reappear again, to be embraced reluctantly or enthusiastically.

The cult of scientists survives by engaging itself in the pursuit of answers to riddles and curiosities. Proteins enable so many biological functions: their study has led to an understanding of how antibodies function and how we fall sick or recover from a disease, how we perceive things with our eyes or our nose or other senses: that too we see things in color and distinguish rotten apple from a ripe one from just the smell. Proteins are laborers, managers, gatekeepers ofbiological world; mobility and muscle action can be interpreted in terms of protein physics. The understanding of how proteins are made contains the answer to the questions related to mutations and emergence of diseases, to how traits get passed and even perhaps how evolution occurs. The specific scientific aspects outlined in the history of proteins can be accessed through many textbooks, though the field itself lies at the crossroads between physics, chemistry and biology. The realm of biophysics and biochemical engineering have advanced so much in last fifty years that separate programs, conferences and journals are devoted to them; but there was a time when all the life-processes were incomprehensible, what controlled, actuated, enabled the life processes was mystery to the best minds around. Much has changed since our grandfather's grandfather studied science, (whatever it was that was called science then) and many of the discoveries in protein science are indeed responsible for raising the global health and standard of living. It is quite possible that our by our grandson's grandson's time, we will have mastered the art of making synthetic proteins that will help us solve health, food, energy and recycling problems!

The study of the history of proteins introduces (or reintroduces) us to many of the well-known scientists of past two hundred years: Fischer, Svedberg, Staudinger, Ostwald, Sorensen, Kirkwood, Tiselius, Langmuir, Edsall, Sanger, Bernal, Pauling, Watson, Crick, Loeb, etc. The list includes many Noble prize winners. (Many names reappear in history of colloidal science and polymer science). The stories included in the book also give a glimpse of the role of mentors, the lure of erroneous assumptions, the long, laborious journey to perfect experimental system or correctly framed theory. Science proceeds by framing right questions, sometimes also by arriving at the right question only after the wrong question leads you to dead-ends or new unchartered terrains. Many key discoveries in protein science involved answers to questions like: What is the size of a specific protein?How can we separate proteins? How do the large number of atoms organize into biomolecules, how/why do these biomolecules assemble into cells and tissues and so on? What is the structure of proteins and can we crystallize them? How does the presence of proteins in solution affect the viscosity of the mixture or dispersion?

Most of the proteins contain only five different atoms - carbon, oxygen, hydrogen , nitrogen and sulfur - and yet their utility for a wide range of functions is mind-boggling. The story of proteins is also inter-related with the story of discoveries and inventions, theories and techniques that emerged in other fields and other contexts: for example, X-ray crystallography, ultracentrifugation, macromolecular hypothesis, colloidal theory, theory of Brownian Motion, statistical thermodynamics all played a role in advancing our understanding and knowledge of protein science. I believe that every serious biochemist and biophysicist, as well as any curious and creative person, must read this book, to appreciate and literally understand how much information and complexity is folded, assembled and sustained by every cell of our body. The best part about reading this book, of course,is that it is great piece of scientific writing and it is also an example of well-written prose (memoir of sorts). You learn key concepts of biophysics/biochemistry and you learn all about the pioneers and pioneering studies in protein science, you learn it all, through quotes, stories, sketches, memoirs... and you find that the authors have managed to transfer their enthusiasm for this field of study to you.

The exciting story of Nature's Robots

I read this book twice; the first time was when I wrote my book on water and aqueous solution and more recently, while writing the sequel to my book on the role of water in biochemical processes.

In both cases I have enjoyed reading the book. Tanford and Reynolds tell the story of proteins in a simple, non-technical and engaging style, not to mention the many amusing anecdotes.

Although I have a few reservations, as well as some disagreements on specific statements made in this book, this did not dampen nor diminish my enjoyment of reading it. I was particularly impressed to learn about the "evolution" of the thoughts of early scientists on the "dominant forces" in biochemical processes, in times when the structure of proteins was virtually unknown.

The book also contains short reviews on the rich repertoire of diverse proteins' physiological functions such as enzymatic activity, locomotion of living organisms, color vision and more.

I wholeheartedly recommend this book for any reader, a layperson or research scientists to name a few, who are curious to learn how scientific ideas evolve from very primitive speculations to highly sophisticated theories, always leaving elbow room for further study and understanding of the nature of Nature's Robots.

History of Science at its best
People who say that History of Science is boring haven't read this excellent book. This book is lively, entertaining and unbiased. While you can find dozens of accounts of the history of chemistry or physics, protein biochemistry has been overlooked for way too long. It was worth the wait though! As the proud owner of some of the material cited in this book (particularly on the history of enzymes), I had a blast reading "Nature's Robots". Read it and then go out and buy "Mendeleyeff's dream", they complement each other beautifully

The definitive history of proteins
This book represents the very best kind of science writing: tart, concise, erudite and eclectically well informed. Granted, this book is not aimed at the average reader, you must have a fairly good working knowledge of protein chemistry. Indeed, the authors explicitly state that this book is meant for young researchers in the field of proteins (me): it can get very technical in places. The authors hope to plug a lacuna in the knowledge of proteins that is not taught in universities for very good reasons. History often makes the learning of new concepts difficult (although there are equally good reasons for teaching it - re. the Mach-Maxwell debate in the teaching of physics in Germany in the nineteenth century).

The authors have found the most marvellous materials - obscure researchers, long-forgotten debates, the wonder of discoveries as it was felt at the time. Indeed, what makes the book come alive is that discoveries are described in the context that they were made - both in terms of alternatives and the fractious infighting they sometimes engendered. Here, an appreciation of the technical details is an absolute must to truly appreciate the writing.

Historical context is judiciously included. When it is necessary, for instance, to understand how certain labs came into prominence or how ideas criss-crossed the globe. However, historical context is not slavishly used to structure the book. Some discoveries logically engender other discoveries. Too much focus on the historical context would lose the thread of the ideas. There are some of the most delicately rendered biographies, although thankfully, these are only kept at a minimum, a couple of paragraphs or so - after all, most scientists are not that interesting as people.

Finally, the authors have held no punches. In one place, they dismiss the work of a Nobel prize winner after winning the prize as a waste of time.

However, one vital ommision must be said (as noted in the review of this book in Nature). The Nobel-prize winning work of Anfinsen in showing that denatured proteins can refold is reduced to a single footnote. Given the generosity they have shown in other places, this is suprising.

A Sketch Of Protein Research
This volume concerns itself with the nature of proteins, from early crystallization and spectroscopy studies to the debate between whether proteins are colloids or macromolecules, and the discovery of the peptide bond. Methods of analysis are discussed in regards to their historical context, and many researchers are given due credit in their various efforts, some counter-productive. Much of the text is given to protein structure and folding and how research has illuminated these areas. There are also chapters on physiological functions and how proteins are synthesized and the discovery of DNA and it's significance, all in historical review.

Current protein research is briefly mentioned, and there are many references cited throughout the volume. This book is primarily targeted to chemists although anyone with an interest in protein science could read it. I personally thought this book was very informative. ... Read more

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This digital document is an article from World of Microbiology and Immunology, brought to you by Gale®, a part of Cengage Learning, a world leader in e-research and educational publishing for libraries, schools and businesses.The length of the article is 934 words.The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase.You can view it with any web browser.Covers the concepts, theories, discoveries, and pioneers in microbiology and immunology, using a mix of traditional academic and topical articles, this title addresses current ethical, legal, and social issues with special emphasis given to biological warfare and terrorism. ... Read more

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This textbook is aimed at the clinical medical student wishing to read more deeply about medical microbiology, the young surgeon preparing for professional exams and the trainee pathologist. It deals with infections by all types of micro-organism including recently recognized syndromes. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A GOOD CLINICAL MICROBIOLOGY TEXT
The worst thing I would say about this book is that there are few illustrative tables and diagrams in it; and all of them are in black and white.
However, outside stingy and unattractive figures, every other quality of this book is positive. Its contents are rich; and are organized in a way many standard microbiology texts are not. Both established and opportunistic pathogens were grouped together, not by taxonomical relationships, but by their predilection to cause disease in a particular area of the body. Thus, while reading this book, bear in mind that its author grouped organisms that cause skin diseases together: regardless of whether they are bacteria, viruses, or fungi.
"Microbiology in Clinical Practice" did ramify areas of diagnostic analysis, chemotherapy, epidemiology, zoonoses, nosocomial infections, as well as methods of disinfection and sterilization.
The book spared no effort in explaining various terms and concepts. And, I believe that fledging doctors, nurses, and lab scientists would find it helpful.

good clinical book
This book is primarily aimed at clinicians and does this job relatively well, it would be a good micro text for med students in this regard. It also has some usefullnes in the medical microbiology lab as it gives the benchtop microbiologist a understanding from the clinicians perspective. Overall good for both the bench scientist and the clinician. ... Read more

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This book is the first to give a well-documented, illustrated survey of the historical background to disease caused by fungi in man and domesticated animals. Medical and veterinary mycology includes the study of infectious diseases caused by actinomycetes and allergic conditions induced by both fungi and actinomycetes, and their history is also described here. The foundations of medical mycology have been laid over the past centuries but have only been completed during recent decades. This is therefore an appropriate moment to write the history of this specialty, which involves the collaboration of medically qualified and non-medically trained workers. Dr Ainsworth's long and varied career in mycology fits him ideally to the task he has undertaken and he has drawn on his experience to provide an invaluable scholarly perspective on the area. ... Read more

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Many researchers have been deterred from the study of anaerobes because of the perceived difficulties in culture methods. Advances in equipment and methodology have led to more widespread study of these diverse and fascinating organisms and their activities, generating more interest in the subject.This book provides the first ready source of general methods of use to all anaerobic microbiologists, in addition to those which are valuable in the study of the specific habitats or groups of organisms. Topics include isolation and culture techniques as well as range of taxonomic methods, and protocols for biochemical and genetic studies. Several chapters are also devoted specifically to organisms with special culture requirements, such as the methanogens, sulphate-reducing bacteria, and anaerobic eukaryotes (including both protozoa and fungi). This volume will be essential to all those interested in the study of anaerobic micro-organisms, whether in the fields of taxonomy, ecology, physiology or molecular biology. ... Read more