Pasteur and, his Work

Abstract

BY the translation of this work Drs. A. F. and B. H. Wedd have made available to the English-speaking public one of the most complete accounts of the scientific career of Pasteur. Even the lay mind will be able to follow step by step and appreciate the series of brilliant researches which gave birth to the science of microbiology, culminating in that triumph of applied science—anti-rabies inoculation. Perhaps the very detail in virtue of which this book will appeal to those actively interested in science, will act as a deterrent to the general reading public. The first two chapters in particular, dealing with Pasteur's work on crystallography, require a degree of concentration likely to scare away all but the more determined. However, in a footnote we are told that these two chapters may be omitted without detracting in any way from the value of what is to follow. This is in fact correct, for these researches, although of great interest and of fundamental importance, serve mainly to show us that Pasteur, despite his unpromising years at school and the lycée, was possessed of a scientific mind which even at this early age bore the stamp of genius. They do not form a consecutive part of the brilliant investigations which follow and they can well be passed over.

Pasteur and, his Work.

By L. Descour. Translated from the French by A. F. and Dr. B. H. Wedd. Pp. 256. (London: T. Fisher Unwin, Ltd., 1922.) 15s. net.