The Light in the Skull: An Odyssey of Medical Discovery [Hardcover]

Ronald Glasser (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1997 | ISBN-10: 057119916X | ISBN-13: 978-0571199167 | Edition: First Edition

Here is a searing look at the never-ending battle with diseases that threaten mankind, written by the bestselling author of 365 Days and Ward 402. Light in the Skull delves into the minds and actions of such great scientists as Gallo, Pasteur, and Salk as they try to link the three great themes of our time: evolution, disease, and the frail, ever-changing relationship between humans and nature.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Ronald Glasser, a physician and the author of several books, recounts stories about great medical discoveries that were initially ignored or ridiculed. With great expertise he demonstrates how medical discoveries today are often treated with the same disdain. The detailed biology in The Light in the Skull may prove daunting to the general reader, but those who take up the challenge will learn a tremendous amount about the medical iconoclasts who are conducting valuable research on viruses responsible for current plagues.

From School Library Journal

YA?A riveting medical odyssey. For those interested in a good explanation of such topics as genetics, the immune system, cancer, microbiology, and evolution, among others, this book will be a marvel. Interspersed among the chapters are the fascinating tales of the people involved. One learns of Semmelweis, who had the temerity in the 19th century to insist that doctors wash their hands and instruments when leaving autopsies to deliver babies. Outraged, the medical majority scorned him. He was committed to an asylum and died of the same bacterial infection he tried to prevent in childbirth, caused by the chafing of the shackles he was forced to wear. From the structure of DNA to the race for the discovery of the AIDS virus, from Ebola to Mad Cow Disease, topics of medical research are described with the flair of a talented storyteller. Politics and its influence on the course of medical funding and priorities are made clear in the stories of the cholera epidemic of London in 1854 and the realities of AIDS research. This book will grab readers' attention and open the window to new ideas and wonders. A list for further reading, cited by chapter, offers a chance to pursue newly discovered interests.?Carol DeAngelo, formerly at Fairfax County Public Library, VA
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 210 pages
• Publisher: Faber & Faber; First Edition edition (April 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 057119916X
• ISBN-13: 978-0571199167
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,670,690 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A fascinating, inspiring, scary, and rambling story, June 17, 2000

By 

J. Baxter (MPLS, MN USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Light in the Skull: An Odyssey of Medical Discovery (Hardcover)

I read Glasser's _The Body is the Hero_ many years ago and first had some idea of "modern" immunology, a la 1970 or so. Totally fascinating. This book rambles more (I'm not sure why he did this) but again gives me a new perspective on immunology, viruses, cancer, AIDS, the medical establishment, viral disease, the history of medicine and the evolution of life. I could scarcely put it down, and I wish I had an update, since a book published in 1997 probably represents the status as of 1995 or 1996. He covers the whole range of history of medicine, focussing on Pasteur and after, and also theories and data on the evolution of living system and immmune systems. And has some pretty horrible stories about how the med. establishment and governments have dealt with AIDS, mad cow disease, etc. And left me with hope.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An inspiring story, January 16, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Light in the Skull: An Odyssey of Medical Discovery (Hardcover)

This is a fascinating history of medical discovery. Glasser gives the general reader a deep understanding of disease and the immune system, and the courageous individuals who researched them. I loved this book and look forward to more by Mr. Glasser.

1 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A waist of time and money, May 16, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Light in the Skull: An Odyssey of Medical Discovery (Hardcover)

" The Light in the Skull" by Ronald Glasser M.D. ISBN 0-571-19916-X

A waist of time and money.

Having read Dr. Glasser's "365 Days" many years ago I was seduced into buying his more recent work "The Light in the Skull". Unfortunately, this latest work is very disappointing. The first warning is that there is no preface, unusual for a non fiction work. The preface usually tells why the author has undertaken the work and how he intends to approach the task. It would be virtually impossible to write a preface for this book. The book rambles over a vast amount of subject matter concerning the practice of medicine and the history of some of some scientific principles, but lacks a unifying point of view or theme. He even gets some technical facts wrong. He states that Watson and Crick used "chaos theory" during their work on the structure of DNA. In fact, the mathematics of chaos was not developed till several decades after the DNA work. He also, repeatedly, gets the base pairing of DNA wrong. This book needs an editor, proofreader, fact checker and an author that has some idea of what he wants to say.