The Private Science of Louis Pasteur [Hardcover]

Gerald L. Geison (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 17, 1995

On the 100th anniversary of Louis Pasteur's death, Gerald Geison has written a controversial biography that finally penetrates the secrecy that has surrounded much of this legendary scientist's laboratory work. He uses Pasteur's laboratory notebooks, made available only recently, and his published papers to present a rich and full account of some of the most famous episodes in the history of science and their darker sides - for example, Pasteur's rush to develop the rabies vaccine and the human risks his haste entailed. The discrepancies between the public record and the "private science" of Louis Pasteur tell us as much about the man as they do about the highly competitive and political world he learned to master. Although experimental ingenuity served Pasteur well, he also owed much of his success to the polemical virtuosity and political savvy that won him unprecedented financial support from the French state during the late nineteenth century. But a close look at his greatest achievements raises ethical issues. In the case of Pasteur's widely publicised anthrax vaccine, Geison reveals its initial defects and how Pasteur, in order to avoid embarrassment, secretly incorporated a rival colleague's findings to make his version of the vaccine work. Pasteur's premature decision to apply his rabies treatment to his first animal bite victims raises even deeper questions and must be understood not only in terms of the ethics of human experimentation and scientific method, but also in light of Pasteur's shift from a biological theory of immunity to a chemical theory - similar to ones he had often disparaged when advanced by his competitors.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Realities of the creative process, scientific method, research ethics, personalities and politics are confronted in this weighty reappraisal of Pasteur's pioneering work. Geison, professor of history at Princeton, provides an overview of Pasteur's career and subsequent legend in concert with extensive analyses of his seminal research regarding optical isomers, germ theory and vaccinations for anthrax and human rabies. Scrutinizing Pasteur's private papers and laboratory notebooks, available only in recent years, Geison finds discrepancies between the scientist's private records and public positions, some suggesting duplicity, and he considers the implications, revealing the range of Pasteur's ambition and extraordinary skills as a savvy publicist and innovative researcher. Although there are some new revelations, the book's most distinguishing features are extensive documentation and balanced consideration of different viewpoints. Ponderous in places, this work of historical scholarship touches on many human issues ever pertinent in scientific research. Illustrations.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

There hardly seems to be a person alive who does not know of Louis Pasteur and his great works?the discovery of rabies and anthrax vaccines and the pasteurization process. Many people will be dismayed by Geison's revisionist account of Pasteur's work. A professor of history at Princeton University who has lectured and written extensively on the history of science, Geison spent 15 years studying 30 bound volumes of Pasteur's unpublished correspondence and lecture notes and over 100 laboratory workbooks?over 10,000 pages in all. These works have not been available to researchers until recently because Pasteur left them to his family with instructions never to show them to anyone. With the death of his last male decendant, they became the property of the French National Library. Geison has discovered that Pasteur's two most famous experiments were tainted by lies and scientific, if not moral, misconduct. The author's deconstruction of the Pasteur myth is not an attempt to discredit the man or his works but to present the unadorned truth. Well written and scholarly, with extensive notes and bibliography, this book is highly recommended.?James Olson, Northeastern Illinois Univ. Lib., Chicago
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Princeton University Press; 1ST edition (April 17, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0691034427
• ISBN-13: 978-0691034423
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,033,475 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Private Science of Louis Pasteur Review, April 16, 2006

By 

Sam Spillenkothen (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Private Science of Louis Pasteur (Paperback)

Gerald Geison's The Private Science of Louis Pasteur is an excellent and comprehensive biography that effectively delves into the life of one of the worlds greatest and most influential scientists. The book outlines and discusses Pasteur's life and work in an organized manner, starting in a more biographical sense and then discussing the development and implications of each of Pasteur's most important discoveries, including optical isomers, experiments disproving spontaneous generation, the anthrax vaccine, and the rabies vaccine. The book also includes a section explaining Pasteur's legacy in its closing pages. The Private Science of Louis Pasteur also discusses the differences between Pasteur's discoveries in his published papers and those recorded in his private laboratory notebooks. The information in the book concerning the procedures Pasteur used in his experiments is fascinating, albeit hard to understand at times. The book penetrates the secrecy of Pasteur's laboratory work, using Pasteur's personal notebooks, made available only recently. It outlines some of the most important events in scientific history, including the development of the rabies and anthrax vaccines. Louis Pasteur is one of the most influential and important scientists of all time. For this reason, everyone should learn about him and his discoveries, and a great way of doing this is exploring this book.

5.0 out of 5 stars Entlarvt Pasteur als skrupellosen Lügner!, December 13, 2010

By 

sosMsos - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Private Science of Louis Pasteur (Hardcover)

Allen Zeitgenossen Pasteurs, wie z.B. Bechamp, dem »vergessenen« Ethel Douglas Hume in seinem Buch aus dem Jahr 1923 »Pasteur exposed« (Pasteur entlarvt) und allen Wissenschaftlern, die sich später mit dem »Impfen« und Pasteur auseinander g...esetzt haben, wie z.B. dem Forscher R.B. Pearson in seiner Arbeit aus dem Jahre 1942 »The Dream and Lie of Louis Pasteur« (Der Traum und die Lüge des Louis Pasteur) war klar und sie belegten es, daß nichts, was Pasteur jemals behauptete und über das Impfen berichtet wird, den Tatsachen entspricht. Pasteur, ein skrupelloser Betrüger, wurde ganz gezielt von der Regierung Frankreichs eingesetzt, um deren Interessen zu vertreten. Zuerst bekämpfte er die Erkenntnisse, daß es Keime und Bakterien und keine Spontanerzeugung des Lebens gibt, und dann verkauft er all dies, inklusive des »Pasteurisierens« - das Sterilisieren durch Erhitzen - als seine Erkenntnis und betrügt rücksichtslos beim »Impfen«. Im Jahr 1993 wird noch einmal und zwar von sehr pro­minenter Stelle aus benannt und belegt, daß alles was Pasteur über seine Impfstoffe publiziert hatte FREI ERFUNDEN war. Der Princeton-Historiker Prof. Gerald G. Gei-son publizierte 1993 seine 25jährigen Recherchen über Pasteurs Laboraufzeichnun­gen und seine Tagebücher und verglich diese mit seinen »wissenschaftlichen« Publi­kationen.

0 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Terrific Biography, July 17, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Private Science of Louis Pasteur (Paperback)

This is a terrific biography written with a great deal of historical sophistication.