How to win the noble prize: An unexpected life in scieces
By, Bishop, J Michael
Publisher: Harvard
Class No.: 610.92 BIS
Accession No.: 009709
Year: 2003
Pages: 288 p.

Of the week: 28th Jan. to 02nd Feb., 2008

Despite his book's encouraging title, Bishop-who won a Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine in 1989-cautions that "I have not written an instruction manual for pursuit of the prize." Instead, he has written an amiable reflection on the experience of being a Nobelist, intertwined with some history and anecdotes about the award, and balanced by a wide-ranging review of his own career as an "accidental scientist"-his transformation from small-town boy who, when a college professor suggested he apply to Harvard for medical school, said, "Where is that?" to successful and celebrated microbiologist studying viruses and eventually cancer cells (the work that won him the Nobel).

Along the way, Bishop reflects on the history of our knowledge of microbes, cancer, the politics of funding research and present-day disenchantment with science. His main purpose in writing this book, Bishop says, is to show that "scientists are supremely human"-which he does with grace and charm.