Microbe Hunters By Paul Henry De Kruif, Ph.D. (Audio One Of Two)
Microbe Hunters provides dramatized accounts of eleven early pioneers of microbiology and their important discoveries. Beginning in 1650 with the invention of the microscope and the first discovery of the microbial world, de Kruif chronicles how scientific knowledge builds upon itself with essays on Pasteur and Koch who demonstrated that microbes can cause disease; Metchnickoff’s discovery of an immune system that battles microbes, as well as further essays on viral and parasitic diseases such as yellow fever and malaria and the roles that specific insects play in microbial transmission. The book culminates in Ehrlich’s ca. 1910 discovery of a “magic bullet” – the first time that a drug was created that specifically targeted a microbial pathogen.
De Kruif employs a style of writing that includes semi-fictionalized accounts of each scientist’s thoughts and rationale as they work through their respective scientific hypotheses. By keeping the reader in the scientist’s head in this manner, the reader experiences the “Ah-ha!” moment along with the scientist when the groundbreaking discovery is made. Importantly, the reader need not have any science background to understand and appreciate this book.
Microbe Hunters was first published in 1926 and quickly became an international best seller. The fact that it remains in print today is a testament to its enduring appeal. Nonetheless, please be advised that there are some demeaning comments towards several racial and ethnic groups, reflecting the time period when the science was conducted or when the book was written, that would be considered racist by today’s standards.
De Kruif's celebrated 1926 book Microbe Hunters consists of chapters on the following figures of medicine's Heroic Age:
Anton van Leeuwenhoek (1632–1723) – the invention of a simple microscope and the discovery of microorganisms.
Lazzaro Spallanzani (1729–1799) – biogenesis.
Robert Koch (1843–1910) – identification of pathogens.
Louis Pasteur (1822–1895) – bacteria, biogenesis.
Emile Roux (1853–1933) and Emil von Behring (1854–1917) – diphtheria.
Elie Metchnikoff (1845–1916) – phagocytes.
Theobald Smith (1859–1934) – animal vectors and ticks.
David Bruce (1855–1931) – tsetse flies and sleeping sickness.
Ronald Ross (1857–1932) and Battista Grassi (1854–1925) – malaria.
Walter Reed (1851–1902)–yellow fever.
Paul Ehrlich (1854–1915)–the magic-bullet concept applied to syphilis.
Paul Henry de Kruif (March 2, 1890–February 28, 1971) was an American microbiologist and author of Dutch descent. Publishing as Paul de Kruif, he is most noted for his 1926 book, Microbe Hunters. This book was not only a bestseller for a lengthy period after publication, but has remained high on lists of recommended reading for science and has been an inspiration for many aspiring physicians and scientists.
De Kruif was born March 2, 1890, in Zeeland, Michigan. In 1912, he graduated from the University of Michigan with a bachelor's degree, and he remained there to obtain a Ph.D., which was granted in 1916. He immediately entered service as a private in Mexico on the Pancho Villa Expedition and afterwards served as a lieutenant and a captain in World War I in France. Because of his service in the Sanitary Corps, he had occasional contacts with leading French biologists of the period.
After returning to the University of Michigan as an assistant professor, De Kruif briefly worked for the Rockefeller Institute (for Medical Research). He then became a full-time writer.
De Kruif assisted Sinclair Lewis with his Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Arrowsmith (1925) by providing the scientific and medical information required by the plot, along with character sketches. Even though Lewis was listed as the sole author, De Kruif's contribution was significant, and he received 25 percent of the royalties. Many believe the characters in the novel represent people known to De Kruif, with Martin Arrowsmith (a physician, unlike de Kruif) possibly representing himself.
While working for the Rockefeller Institute, De Kruif submitted an anonymous entry about modern medicine, for a book entitled Civilization. In the article, he decried the state of contemporary medical practice, which, because it lacked scientifically sound practices, he called medical Ga-Ga-ism. De Kruif decried doctors as providing only a mélange of religious ritual, more or less accurate folk-lore, and commercial cunning. When it was discovered that De Kruif was the author of the essay, he was fired from the Rockefeller Institute.
Ronald Ross, one of the scientists featured in Microbe Hunters, took exception to how he was described, so the British edition deleted that chapter to avoid a libel suit.
De Kruif was a staff writer for the Ladies' Home Journal, Country Gentleman, and Reader's Digest, contributing articles on science and medicine. He also served on commissions to promote research into infantile paralysis (polio).
De Kruif died February 28, 1971, in Holland, Michigan.
Tips for an Easy Holiday Buffet - Lunch Thyme with Leona
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