Pasteur and Modern Science (2^nd Ed., 2nd ed. 1988)
Scientific Revolutionaries Series

Dubos's classic biography of Louis Pasteur, originally published in 1960 and for several years out of print is once again made available in this new and expanded hardcover edition. The original work has been enlarged by more than forty illustrations and tables, a new biographical sketch of Dubos, a glossary of technical terms and a chronological outline of Pasteur's career. The book's enduring appeal is a tribute both to its subject and to its author. Few scientists so captured the public imagination as Louis Pasteur, and fewer still had such a dramatic effect on everyday life. Dubos, a Pulitzer prize winner, was a modern biographer almost ideally suited to the task. A distinguished French-born microbiologist of broad culture, Dubos had a deep appreciation for the power and enduring significance of Pasteur's scientific work. To the more personal dimensions of the biographer's task, Dubos brought his keen insight into the wellsprings of human action, behavior, and personality. He thus appreciated the full range of Pasteur's life, including its philosophical, religious, and political dimensions. Finally, Dubos' graceful writing style allowed him to convey the excitement and significance of even the most technical aspects of Pasteur's work.

1 From Schoolboy to Scientist.- Birth and Background.- A Schoolboy Shows Promise.- Pasteur as Painter.- The Urge for Perfection.- 2 A Student of Crystals.- A Cristallographic Problem.- A Great Discovery.- The Confirmation: A New Field of Science.- 3 Pasteur’s First Steps Toward Biology.- Madame Pasteur: Companion and Collaborator.- Separating Crystals with Fungi.- The Asymmetry of the Universe.- Asymmetry and the Development of Biochemistry.- 4 From Crystals to Fermentation.- Living “Ferments”.- The Nature of Fermentation.- Sour Milk: The Beginning of Scientific Microbiology.- Over One Hundred Years Later.- 5 A Crowded Life.- Working Conditions in Paris.- A Single Gigantic Problem.- 6 Spontaneous Generation.- Grapes With and Without Yeasts.- The Swan-neck Flask.- The Germ Theory.- The New Science of Bacteriology.- 7 Pasteurization.- Wine, Vinegar, and Beer.- Partial Sterilization or “Pasteurization”.- New Understanding of Ancient Practices.- 8 Utilizing Microbes.- The Indispensable Links.- The Benefits of Precise Knowledge.- 9 Biochemistry and Life.- Pasteur Persists.- The Discovery of “Anaerobic” Life.- Point of Synthesis: The Utilization of Oxygen.- A Definition of Fermentation.- The Chemical Mystery of Life.- 10 Victory Over Disease.- Contagion and the Potato Blight.- Lister Acknowledges a Debt.- Diseased Silkworms: Another Triumph.- Personal Tragedy: The Indomitable Will.- 11 The Germ Theory is Established.- Anthrax: A Final Proof.- Rabies: The Discovery of Filterable Viruses.- Extension of the Experimental Method.- 12 The Birth of Immunology.- The Origins of Vaccination.- From Vision to Practice.- The Dramatic Prophylaxis of Rabies.- The Dream of “Chemical Vaccines”.- From Folklore to Knowledge.- 13 Further Applications of the Germ Theory.- Biological Control and Warfare with Microbes.- Antibiotics and Aseptic Surgery.- A Neglected Lesson.- 14 Pasteur’s Dilemma—The Road Not Taken.- 15 A Dedicated Life.- Pasteur and Family.- Pasteur and Country.- A Higher Dedication.- Of His Time and Timeless.- Chronology.- Further Reading.