Microbe Hunters Then and Now

The title of a book cannot be copyrighted, but anyone who chooses to use "Microbe Hunters" in any book title has either enormous chutzpah or vaunting ambition. The original Microbe Hunters, written by Paul de Kruif in 1927, probably did more to proselytize young minds into careers in medicine and science than any book ever written. (See Richard Rhodes' intriguing tour of prion diseases: He begins with a young Nobel Laureate-to-be, Carlton Gajdusek, who, after reading …

…names of a whole new cohort of scientists into her laptop. Perhaps the names Weller, Krugman, Pruisiner, and others might be among them after the youngster reads this extraordinary, even inspiring, update of Microbe Hunters. It is really, after all, a book to inspire future scientists. John S. Marr, MD, MPH MD Health Plan North Haven, Conn. References Rhodes R: Deadly Feasts: Tracking the Secrets of a Terrifying New Plague. New York, Simon & Schuster, 1997, p 29.