Customer Reviews

The Art and Politics of Science

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Harold Varmus is an unusual scientist, who was a major participant in the most important discovery in cancer biology in history (for which he shared the Nobel Prize with J.Michael Bishop), directed the NIH, the most important medical research center in the world, and is presently the head of Memorial Sloan Kettering, where he has presided over an impressive growth in scientific discovery and clinical applications. In this reflection over his early development as a scientist, his important scientific discoveries, and his political experience in Washington, Varmus brings all of these down to a familiar and understandable level. Somehow this seems both remarkable and yet within reach of non-scientists. We trace Varmus's middle class beginnings, his love of books and flirtation with teaching English literature as a career, rejection from Harvard and acceptance to Columbia Medical School, his fortuitous associations at NIH, to his wonderful collaborations in California. These events are treated with gratitude, irony, and humor. The book is devoid of sentimentality, never condescends, explains the science accurately and simply, and portrays science as it often is, a combination of choosing a good problem, thinking clearly, working hard, and collaborating fairly and openly with students and other scientists. Somehow these simple virtues also worked pretty well in the frenetic Washington environment. For the reader of any background, Varmus's story will appear approachable and informative, a rare glimpse into modern science and science policy. It is an extraordinary career and a captivating story, told in a friendly and often humorous manner, with the goal of informing rather than impressing. It is an easy read that still manages to expand our appreciation of biology and the culture necessary to sustain it.

I am fan of biographies and history of science, too. This book hugely satisfies on these levels. Dr. Varmus's passions come through beautifully -- from the lab, to heading large, important institutions, to his friends and colleagues, to his family, to the love of learning. I am not a scientist and you don't have to be one to enjoy this book (although a certain level of science literacy is necessary). This book is elegant on the science and the personal comes through. Very appealing.

Cancer researcher Harold Varmus has been called a Renaissance man, and the label is aptly bestowed. Varmus is as much at home in the world of art and literature as he is in the scientific realm, where his work with the oncogene--the mutating gene that causes cancer--earned him the Nobel Prize in Medicine. These dual abilities uniquely qualify him to tell his tale. While Varmus describes his life and work engagingly, he is able with equal and contagious enthusiasm to explain, for example, the structure and function of DNA. As a nonscientific person, I didn't understand all the details of the discoveries he describes, but I got the gist and was warmed by the excitement he communicates. A stunning story by a powerful intellect.

Do not be detracted by the title, "The Art and Politics of Science". Professor Varmus is a founder of the modern science of oncology, having discovered the role of oncogenes and signaling pathways in the development of cancer. This has led to amazing new therapies, such as Imatinib (Gleevec) for chronic myeloid leukemia and Herceptin for HER2/Neu (Erb-B2) positive breast cancer, that have prolonged the lives of many patients with cancer. The targeted therapies provide new hope for those with previously resistant malignancies, such kidney cancer. Harold Varmus was awarded the Nobel prize for this work. Just simply describing this journey of discovery is enough to recommend this book to anyone interested in understanding the modern biology of cancer. However, its real strength is that the author describes this journey poetically and with passion, so that at the end of the book the reader is inspired to enter a similar scientific mission of discovery. So, if you are a high school student, a university student who wishes to re-evaluate your career and follow the scientific pathway (as, indeed, Harold Varmus did when he changed from graduate studies in English literature to medical school), or a seasoned oncologist (like myself), the opportunities to make a difference are all around us.

I especially enjoyed the expression of four main themes or sections: Becoming a Scientist: Doing Science; A Political Scientist; and Continuing Controversies. These dissertations are richly expressed through the author's ability to think outside of the box, to distil new ideas into focused research, to inspire others, and then to communicate his findings in understandable language. His experience in politics (especially as Director of the NIH-the largest funding body for science in the world) demonstrates a combination of moral values, integrity, strength, as well as humility. He clearly explains the link of adequate funding with high quality research and its translation into quality of life for human beings. No stone is left unturned, including the responsibilities for global health, the entitlement for research publications to be available to everyone, and also the promise of stem cell research.

I read this book within one weekend, not because it is short, but because it was really entertaining. The book contains a unique mixture of discovery, knowledge, hope, inspiration, respect, humor and humility. Recommended for everyone, especially budding scientists and physicians at all stages of their career, as well as the willing-to-be-informed public.

I went into this thinking the discussions would focus on the more 'political' side of science, outside of the laboratory - getting jobs, tenure, climbing ladders, building a reputation. And it did, in a few short sections. However, and for example, usually scientists have a great transition between postdoc and running their own laboratory. This shift was not really discussed at all, rather the book went into collaborations with other UCSF scientists immediately. I went into the book thinking the transition stages would be discussed in the big picture and with personal experience, and found throughout that they were lacking.

However, I did not expect a run-down of the science that led to the Nobel prize and such details on that section. I was not interested in this, and would believe the text boring for many readers not directly involved in research.

I found much of the book, particularly the later sections, to be short stories without clear ends. The problems and solutions at the NIH section in particular was rather lacking in consistency and seemed to be a collection of anecdotes.

The beginning story of English to medicine was interesting, but really, where were the clinical stories? Surely there are examples. And of the Human Genome Project? Others have given their account of the 'race' and I thought that the one herein would be interesting - after all, funding was truely ramped up during the time he was the head of the NIH. Surely there are interesting anecdotes regarding that. And so on...

Overall, I can't give it a low score just because it was not what I expected. I guess I wanted something else.

This book was published "mainstream" and the title is intriguing, but the vast majority of the pages are devoted to a recap of the author's scientific career. He isn't particularly successful at dumbing down for a regular audience and to be frank, a lot of it is just boring. I was interested to learn that Varmus was the guy who started to allow NIH scientists to consult for industry (Big Pharma, etc), which led to huge problems that are still lingering. Previously any interaction between an NIH scientist and an industry representative was a huge no no.

Harold Varmus has had an impressive career encompassing Nobel-prize cancer research, directorship of the NIH, and presidency of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (with a recent annual compensation of $3.7 million, even though MSKCC is "non-profit"). This book is mainly a well-written collection of memoirs emphasizing on his pre-MSKCC experiences in these arenas. As such, the book is clearly not a full autobiography, nor intended to be.

What you get from the book will depend largely on what you came for. Personally, I'm involved in cancer research and treatment, so I primarily read the book hoping to gain new insights into solving the cancer problem from someone who's been prominent on the front lines for a long time. Unfortunately, the book disappointed me in this regard, since Varmus' views on cancer appear to be rather orthodox. Moreover, I was bored by the technical details related to Varmus' own cancer research, and I think this material is probably better covered in books devoted to the subject. Hence my deducting one star. (For a critique of the cancer establishment, see The War on Cancer: An Anatomy of Failure, A Blueprint for the Future by Guy Faguet and my review of the same.)

I found Varmus' discussion of his experiences as director of the NIH to be much more interesting, since he offers a unique window into the political and funding aspects of biomedical research at this highest level, and he shares plenty of personal stories which give us a feel for what it must have been like to be in his shoes.

The best chapter for me was actually the last one, where Varmus discusses open-access scientific publishing. I totally agree with his views on the pressing need and moral imperative for this, and I anticipate that his seminal contributions in this area may actually turn out to be the most important aspect of his legacy.

I can't generally recommend or not recommend this book since, again, it comes down to what you're looking for. All I can really say is that, if you're intestested in the kinds of endeavors Varmus has been involved in, or interested in his personal story itself, you might find this book worth reading. And you also have the option of reading only the chapters which interest you, since some chapters are fairly independent of others.

So... I am finishing my dissertation as I write. To be honest, I have "zilch" time for reading for fun, and no time to waste on bad leads on what to read.

My research topic is a program Dr. Varmus started at the NIH while he lead the organization in the 1990's -- a progressive educational endeavor that has allowed the nation's leading scientists to help create free learning materials for American science classes. So this was an unavoidable read for me.

There's little here for my education dissertation, BUT I would strongly recommend this as a must-read for anyone interested in the national science effort, or an inside look at how leading scientists view the world. Fascinating and easy to follow.

If every major scientist took time to write one of these science would undoubtedly gain from better public understanding of both method and policy.

This one stays in my library. A+

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the human side of how science is done and how medical research benefits us.

The Art and Politics of Science has three subjects, all excellently covered. (1) How did a Nobel-prize-winning scientist come to his subject? The answer is surprising and encouraging--among other remarks, Varmus notes that learning about DNA was like learning a language. He studied literature before and while doing science. (2) The chapter on his discovery is an exposition of the scientific method and the development of our knowledge about DNA/RNA; it's written so clearly it's comprehensible to a layman. (3)The sections on public policy and science, especially the call to make more research freely available to researchers from all countries, is well reasoned and persuasive. It's no surprise that Varmus has been a science advisor to two presidents.
This is a crucial book for anyone trying to understand what's going on in modern science.