Faith, Madness and Spontaneous Human Combustion [Paperback]

Gerald N. Callahan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2003

Smells can make you fall in love. Parasites can make you crazy. Faith is in the genes. There are fires burning inside your cells and lies flaming in your thymus...Intensely personal and brilliantly scientific, Faith, Madness, and Spontaneous Human Combustion reveals the startling ways in which science--especially immunology and pathology-shapes our destinies, and how something as intimate as our own identities can be connected to the intricate workings of the machines known as our bodies.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Combining science and personal anecdote is no easy task, and Callahan's ambitious look at the relationship between immunology and selfhood falls somewhat short of the mark. Callahan a poet, essayist and Colorado State University professor of immunology aims to show how the immune system literally and metaphorically forms the basis for our identity. Weaving together bits of memoir, case studies of unusual incidents like human combustion and virally transmitted insanity, and basic explanations of immunology, Callahan shows how the immune system's main function to distinguish between self and nonself, to defend the body from invaders not only determines the boundaries of the basic biological "self" but can metaphorically be applied to our psychological selves as well. Discussing the concept of immunological memory, for instance, Callahan writes, "Enveloped viruses... are so named because they carry with them an `envelope' of lipids and proteins taken from the host cell.... Each time we give the flu to our wives or our cold sores to our husbands, we also give them a little bit of ourselves." These metaphors unfortunately tend to be simplistic and pat. Those reading the book for straightforward scientific information or Oliver Sacks-style medical curiosities will probably be frustrated by the impressionistic prose and meandering narrative. While there are fascinating facts here, as well as some genuinely engaging recollections from Callahan's life, these are interspersed with self-indulgent whimsy. An unusual attempt at genre crossing, the book would have been better off as a traditional memoir without the popular science conceit. (Jan.)Forecast: Callahan is being marketed as a successor to Oliver Sacks, but he lacks Sacks's gift for engaging narrative. Not a comfortable fit in any category and unlikely to be a crossover hit.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Each of the dozen essays in this far-ranging collection could be expanded into a book. With one degree in protein chemistry and another in pathology, Callahan is an imaginative scientist, remarkably able to see connections between seemingly unrelated things and events. Uniting the intriguing life journey he traces is the theme encapsulated in his early observation, "We are individuals because we have immune systems." Each immune system works slightly differently from any other, which makes for individual uniqueness in body and emotions. Callahan explores historical and recent variations among individuals and cultures in life, disease, and death. "Watermarks" investigates the uses of water in humans and animals, for instance, while "The Flame Within" is virtually a detective story about the best-documented instance of human spontaneous combustion, which occurred in Florida in 1951. Analogizing to striking effect, Callahan conveys both science and sympathy. It is hard to think of a type of reader who wouldn't be intrigued by this fascinating book. William Beatty
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Berkley Trade (April 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425188523
• ISBN-13: 978-0425188521
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.7 x 8.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,034,011 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Lies we tell, February 24, 2002

By 

Ron Iverson (Casper, WY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Faith, Madness, and Spontaneous Human Combustion: What Immunology Can Teach Us About Self-Perception (Hardcover)

I measure a book by my own reaction to it. When I have finished the last page, if the thoughts within the work compel me to look at the world around me--or within me--in a new and different way, it is a good book. Rare are authors who are capable of opening new doors upon this experience we call life. Gerry Callahan is one such author.

Using the immune system as a basis for analogy, he describes the fascinating tasks the human body's immune system must perform in distinguishing "self" from "not self" in order to keep our bodies from being consumed by the microbial world. But this is not a dry text about immunology. It is a personal and philosophical story about the beauty and elegance of life. It is a story about lymphocytes and mitochondria, but it is far more a story about Gerry L. Callahan, his perceptions, his joy, his pain, his truths, and his lies. Equally, it is about all members of the human species.

"It isn't nature that abhors a vacuum, it's humans. We humans don't believe in the limits of human knowledge, even temporary limits. We don't accept the spaces between what we know and what is. So we lie. We lie to fill in those spaces and smooth the fabric of reality. Otherwise this universe, this life, would be unmanageable, overpowering, and terrifying. We lie to make it manageable-all of us."

This book is about Gerry L Callahan filling in the spaces to smooth the fabric of reality. For me, it opened another door.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Somebody finally found a balance, February 27, 2005

By 

Red Hood - See all my reviews

This review is from: Faith, Madness, and Spontaneous Human Combustion: What Immunology Can Teach Us About Self-Perception (Hardcover)

I call "Faith, Madness..." scientific poetry. It is a work of humanity, written in earnest, baring its flaws and uncertainty to reveal a possible truth about WHY and maybe more importantly HOW we are what we are. Callahan weaves snippets of insightful, passionate prose with personal ancedote to illustrate his theory that our immune systems help to define our individuality. I have been touched by this book. Not only does it speak to my thirst for scientific understanding but it lightly stroked my sense of spirituality. Science books like this don't come around very often.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stimulating, educational & almost mystical, EXCELLENT, March 18, 2006

By 

Michael M. Gollaher (Boise, Idaho, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Faith, Madness, and Spontaneous Human Combustion: What Immunology Can Teach Us About Self-Perception (Hardcover)

Callahan is that genre of author I like to describe as "scientifically based mystic." Scientist in that, true to his craft, he primarily uses the scientific method to probe the answers to life in the biological sense. Mystic in that he recognizes that science can provide many wonderful answers and statistics, but seldom the "meta" answers man has yearned for since we can remember.

"Who am I?" and "What is my place in the universe?" are questions seldom answered satisfactorily by science, and more comfortably by religion. Using his considerable experience and knowledge in the science of immunology, Callahan tackles these questions in a much different way then most scientists would, yet without an appeal to religiosity. Always with a healthy respect for the unknown, unseen and unknowable, Callahan deftly explores the hidden relationships between ourselvs, our parents and every other living thing comprising life.

He'll make you think in ways you possibly haven't thought before, and even tug at your heartstrings while recounting intensly personal stories experienced by us all. Highly recommended.