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'This book is more than a biography of a great microbiologist; it is a history of microbiology itself; especially during the 19th century. It is more than a book about a great scientist; it presents the philosophy of science, and treats of the socio-economic and historical background which made possible the life and scientific contributions of Pasteur.'
List of contents
* Introduction: The Complexities of Genius * The Wonderful Century * The Legend of Pasteur * Pasteur in Action * From Crystals to Life * Spontaneous Generation and the Role of Germs in the Economy of Nature * The Biochemical Unity of Life * The Diseases of Silkworms * The Germ Theory of Disease * Mechanisms of Contagion and Disease * Medicine, Public Health and the Germ Theory * Immunity and Vaccination * Mechanisms of Discoveries
About the author
René Dubos (1901-1982) was an eminent microbiologist and experimental pathologist. For many years professor emeritus at Rockefeller University, he wrote numerous books, including So Human an Animal, winner of the 1969 Pulitzer Prize.
Summary
In the words of one of his English contemporaries, Louis Pasteur was ”the most perfect man who ever entered the kingdom of science.” His contributions to the development of microbiology and medicine were profound, both practically (Pasteurization and vaccination) and theoretically (the germ model of disease). He spoke out forcefully on issues of the day, especially when they concerned public health, and his research included studies on rabies, anaerobic life, childbirth fever, silkworms, and beer. René Dubos's outstanding biography examines Pasteur's manifold genius in the context of the eraPasteur was an exemplary nineteenth-century bourgeoisand in light of recent environmental thought. His view of Pasteur as ecologist, the first to formulate in concrete terms a biological and chemical theory of global ecosystems, is only one of the many surprising insights into a man whose emblematic fame has obscured a complex and rich life.
