DISEASE FIGHTERS SINCE 1950

This volume in the Global Profiles series recounts the achievements and contributions of 12 scientists who have significantly contributed to the eradication of life-threatening diseases of the 20th century. Moser and Spangenburg (Eleanor Roosevelt, 1996, etc.) state that their purpose in telling the stories of today's disease fighters is ``to challenge our readers to join their ranks—either in spirit or in fact.'' Most of the scientists portrayed won Nobel Prizes for their achievements, and all were gifted, self-reliant, with innate incites, and passionately committed to discovering the answers to the problems of diseases. They worked ceaselessly: ``The moment you stop working, you are dead,'' proclaimed Rita Levi-Montalcini. The most famous disease fighter presented is Jonas Salk; others include Dennis Parsons Burkitt, Peter Medawar, Frank Macfarlane Burnet, Gertrude Belle Elion, Susumu Tonegawa, and Lap-Chee Tsui. Each chapter contains a chronology and suggested readings. The biographies are short, lacking a certain weight when covering scientific research; this book is an overview—a good first stop on the way to more in-depth sources. (b&w photos, index, not seen) (Biography. 10+)