A Slot Machine, a Broken Test Tube: An Autobiography

by Salvador Luria

In this remarkable autobiography, Nobel Prize-winning microbiologist S. E. Luria writes frankness and humor about his seven decades in the forefront of science, research, teaching and political activism. He lucidly explains his ground-breaking scientific work (where such mundane objects as a slot machine and a broken test tube played determining roles): reminisces about his colleagues and students (his very first graduate student was James Watson of the Double Helix fame); reveals his personal tastes in the arts and his strongly held political views (he was a leading anti-Vietnam War activist; and shares with us a lifetime thoughts about teaching and scientific research as he discusses his doubts and failings as well as his triumphs.

Genres: Biography

228 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1984

Reviews

[Dean]

You know you're reading an honest autobiography when the author describes in detail his doubts about his own scientific competence, despite being a Nobel-Prize-winning founder of the field of microbial genetics. I would highly recommend this book to other young scientists, especially those that are wondering whether a life in academia is suitable for them. Beautifully written and vulnerably self-aware, the autobiography covers many aspects of life, giving the reader deep insight into the workings of a great mind. There are many tales of adventure, from Nazi bullets raining down as Luria escapes via bicycle from a defeated Paris, to the wild west of experiments that illuminate the interactions between bacteriophages and their hosts. There are also heartfelt reflections on interpersonal relationships and the life-altering effects they often have. It's an underrated gem and I think more people should read it!

[Nitin Kulhar]

It is a testament of candor. Reading this book is like observing a great mind as it reflects without reticence on an illustrious life, one aspect at a time. Just the book to read if you have ever wondered whether the enterprise of science is for everyone or not.

[Rick Elinson]

Luria, a Nobel Prize winner, was a prominent scientist in the 1940-80 era when molecular biology was born. His 1943 paper is a founding one in the field, and his first PhD student was James Watson, co-discoverer of the DNA double helical structure. It is nice to recall that era and interesting to read Luria's self-criticism, doubts, and reflections on socialism and religions.

Luria's account is very calm and passive even though his first twenty years were spent in the potentially more excitable ethos of Italy. An example of this is his leaving of Paris in 1940 in advance of the Nazis as a 28 year old. Luria was Jewish. He travelled from Paris to Marseilles on a bicycle, then on to Spain and Portugal after getting all of the proper paperwork and a U.S. visa, and finally across the ocean on a Portuguese ship. His quiet, unexcited report contrasts with the tensions in Anna Seghers's novel "Transit" and the books about Varian Fry by Marino, Gold, and others.

[Lazarus Long]

Brilliant