Customer Reviews

The Beginner's Guide to Winning the Nobel Prize: Advice for Young Scientists

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In 1996 author Peter Doherty found himself receiving the Nobel Price for Physiology or Medicine from the king of Sweden - an unlikely event for a boy who grew up in an Australian working neighborhood where his schoolmates ended up working in the local slaughterhouse. His journey from Australia, his evolving interest in immunology, and his eventual award-winning work are revealed in a memoir which surveys the life of a research scientist, discussing how scientific projects are selected, funded and organized. This approach makes this more than just a memoir of a prize-winner - and important to any aspiring scientist.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

This book is part memoir, part autobiography, part philosophy, and part several other things, and the result is a delightful read. The title needs to be taken just a bit in jest as no body can tell you how to win the big one. In science that's the Nobel, in sports its the Superbowl or World Series, in acting a Tony or Emmy.

What the book can tell you is how the big one changes your life around. When the Nobel committee called to inform him that he was a winner they said, 'I'm going to give you ten minutes to call your families and friends before I release it to the press. After that expect the phone to be continuously busy.' In the case of the Nobel, a surprising number of people can't get back to the life of research they previously did, they are too busy making speeches and the like.

Another part of the book is on the conflict between science and religion. Back in Galileo's day the Church had decreed that everything went around the Earth, the center of God's perfect universe. Looking through his home made telescope, Galileo saw that moons went around Jupiter. He was shown the instruments of torture and kept under house arrest for the remainder of his life. After this, astronomical research moved to areas not under the tight control of the church.

Now it seems to be the time for biology to be held in contempt. There exists the possibility that religion will stop biology, at least in the United States, substituting faith in the Bible to replace observable facts. This is pretty scary in view of AIDS, bird flu, and other possible pandemics.

Finally there is a section on What's Next. There are too many thoughts here that I can't even begin to do justice to them in a list. Lets just say that there are tremendous problems, tremendous opportunities.

It is not a How-To book to get the Super Prize, it is a journey of a Nobel Prize winner from his childhood to manage to get a nobel prize.

I really like it

I just got done reading this. I would say that this book should be required reading for anyone considering a life in the biomedical sciences. One star off because I thought chapter two was a bit tiresome.

Great book but is definitely not about winning the Nobel Prize. Also, the advice is nothing unique. The real gem of this book is how it discusses the author's path to success, his interests and investment in science, and the sacrifices he and his family made to get there.

I appreciated his humor and his ability to tell an engaging story. If you're interested in learning about the backgrounds behind sciences' most accomplished this is a great start. Recommended for those entering college.

Terrific book. Great detail.
A terrific, informative account of what it takes to be a scientist in biology, health, physiology, etc.
A Must-Read for all incoming graduate students in the health-related research fields.

Professor Peter C. Doherty was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology and Medicine with Swiss colleague, Rolf Zingerngel, in 1996 for discovering `the nature of the cellular immune defence', and was also recognised as Australian of the Year in 1997.

Brief history of Noble Prize/s and autobiography of his childhood. Technical in places on immunology. A very informative read.

Description/condition of textbook was accurate. Textbook was received in very good condition. Shipping occured quickly and textbook was received well before estimated delivery date. Thank you very much for your prompt service. Looking forward to buying from you again.