Madness and Memory: The Discovery of Prions--A New Biological Principle of Disease

by Stanley B. Prusiner

In 1997, Stanley B. Prusiner received a Nobel Prize, the world's most prestigious award for achievement in physiology or medicine. That he was the sole recipient of the award for the year was entirely appropriate, for his struggle to identify the agent responsible for ravaging the brains of animals suffering from scrapie and mad cow disease, and of humans with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, had been waged largely alone and in some cases in the face of strenuous disagreement.
 
In this book, Prusiner tells the remarkable story of his discovery of prions—infectious proteins that replicate and cause disease but surprisingly contain no genetic material—and reveals how superb and meticulous science is actually practiced using talented teams of researchers who persevere. He recounts the frustrations and rewards of years of research and offers fascinating portraits of his peers as they raced to discover the causes of fatal brain diseases. Prusiner’s hypothesis, once considered heresy, now stands as accepted science and the basis for developing diagnoses and eventual cures. He closes with a meditation on the legacy of his discovery: What will it take to cure Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Lou Gehrig’s and other devastating diseases of the brain?

Genres: Science, Biology, Medicine, Nonfiction, Medical, Health, Biography

344 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2014

Reviews

[Marc A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm rating this 4 Stars only because, despite the author's genius level intellect and enviable general erudition, the writing still feels awkward like watching an uncoordinated couple dance the Tango with Arthur Murray Studios perfection but no sense of rhythm or soul. That said, the prose is competent and pretty good for a scientist (I've certainly read worse) who is doing his own writing.

The story of Dr. Prusiner's 30 year quest to uncover a completely new modality of infection (that he named, "prion" to distinguish it from bacteria, viruses, and all other infectious particles then known), and the much more difficult and frustrating struggle to beat back the often gratuitous naysayers and petty backbiters in the science community and the opportunist, "know nothing" press, all determined to substitute their prejudices for his gruelingly detailed and meticulous lab work, is a great science whodunit and a tribute to the human spirit of discovery and the kind of persistence it takes to bring something really new to be recognized with a Nobel Prize.

It certainly helps to have even a smattering of science background, but even if you skip the most technical parts (which one can tell that the author has sought to either eliminate or moderate as much as possible), anyone can appreciate the insight into the bruiseingly competitive world of scientific research at the highest level.

[Ernie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Prions were and are mind-bending. They broke the rules we learned in biology before 1980 and even after. (I recall one of my professors in school working on the slow virus responsible for scrapie in sheep. I wonder what happened to her?) Infectious proteins? -- But this is the stuff of science...discovering something really new. Prusiner lays it out from his beginning as a medical student leading up to winning the Nobel prize for his adventurous insights.

It wasn't my field but I read the stories in Science and elsewhere as it developed. Exciting stuff.

Except I didn't realize that Poor Stanley was so abused during that time. At least he felt unappreciated! All the while he was winning large grants, publishing well and collaborating well.

Yes, I think he complains too much. `

I enjoyed the story following the steps leading to the conclusions about prions and the machinations to make it all work. Science is exciting.

I was thoroughly distracted by his whining throughout the book. Everyone he meets is either a wonderful person who advances Prusiner's career or a selfish, narrow minded cretin who get their just desserts when Prusiner is successful AGAINST ALL ODDS and they are proved to be shallow, obstructive and ultimately copycat scientists.

Whatever.

I enjoyed reading an inside story of the Prion work. An autobiography by Prusiner is about as inside as it can get. But if we want to know about Prusiner, we need to wait for someone to write a biography describing him as a dedicated, innovative and competitive scientists. He has a massive ego and a very thin skin. He doesn't seem to like writers who do not find him sweet and victimized... so it may be a while before we see that biography.

The writing reminded me of scientific writing. We scientists can readily assembly words but we do it in a very square and repetitive fashion. Once we find a way of describing something clearly, we use the same formula over and over again. Prusiner introduces each person to the story by first telling approximate height, color of hair and their build.

Nevertheless, prions are amazing. Thats why this got more than 1 star! There are a lot of amazing things in this world and it takes geniuses like Prusiner to bring them to our attention.

[Comrade_Bazarov · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stan Prusiner is a prominent scientist working in the field of neurodegenerative disorders. He won the Nobel Prize in 1997 for his groundbreaking discovery of prions (misfolded proteins that cause diseases like mad cow disease). Much of the work on prions was done in late 1970's/early 1980's and it was an immensely controversial idea. Established dogma held that diseases are transmitted by DNA and/or RNA species (like bacteria or viruses). Prusiner's discoveries (aided by work done by many others in the field as well) rightfully shifted the paradigm but he faced an uphill task convincing the community.

In this memoir, he describes the laborious task of isolating and identifying the agent that causes scrapie (mad cow's version in sheep). He also describes the hostility he faced both at his own institution (UCSF, where he still works) and at other places. Initially even he was in disbelief when he discovered that misfolded proteins can transmit disease without the aid of any genetic material, but as the evidence increased, he mounted a vigorous campaign to widely publish his work and convince others.

A lot of science memoirs are sterilized i.e. the writer scrubs the past clean and all too often portray him/herself as a lone idealistic crusader interested only in unearthing the lofty truth. Prusiner's memoir is not one of those. Here you will find all the dirty laundry aired in its full glory. Every feud, petty or otherwise, gets a detailed treatment. Every person who slighted or supported him gets a mention. Prusiner doesn't hold back on his opinions and this book is refreshing for that.

I gave this book three stars (instead of four) because I believe it flounders terribly towards the end. After spending pages and pages painstakingly outlining his research and displaying immense maturity in refusing to overstate his claims, Prusiner gets careless and starts speculating wildly about prions in other neurodegenerative diseases, like Alzheimer's. I work in the same field of research and there is this idea that has gained traction recently that a whole host of diseases like AD, Parkinson's etc could be triggered and developed in a person's brain through a 'prion-like' manner. There is limited evidence showing this might be the case, but a lot of other issues have to be worked out. For Prusiner to rashly call amyloid-beta peptide (the main component of plaques seen in Alzheimer's) a prion is gross overexaggeration and is misleading. His speculation mars an otherwise good book.

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 stars.

Madness and Memory is an admirable attempt at explaining the step-by-step progression of a surprising scientific breakthrough, starting from the initial mystery of the neurological disorders scrapie, kuru, and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease to the discovery of the "prion protein" PrP, some creative genetic experimentation with mice and hamsters, and the eventual awarding of a 1997 Nobel Prize to Stanley B Prusiner.

The book's strengths include its (sometimes) successful explanations of complex biological/experimental/chemical principles, an inside look at the disturbing politics involved in challenging scientific orthodoxy, and a compelling account of Prusiner's emotional journey, warts and all, as he pursued his research.

Unfortunately, many of the explanations are not accessible to a layperson, despite the fact that the book is written for a non-academic audience. Moreover, some of the dramatic twists and turns of the prion story seem to depend heavily on certain experiments and ideas which, when not properly explained, make it difficult to appreciate the events that are being described.


I recommend this book only to patient and/or biologically savvy readers.

[Leigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Scientists should not be allowed to write the stories of their own discoveries. I mean, who wants to read a scientific book that has chapters like "the battle for tenure"?? This guy has contributed immensely to science and humanity, but he is also more than a bit insufferable and I wish someone with a better sense of storytelling and scientific communication had stepped in to coauthor this very important story. But I'm bumping this up to 3 stars because of the call to action on Alzheimer's research at the end, which is very important. I wish we would listen to scientists more about stuff like this and fund their work more robustly and consistently; just also wish the significant aspects of this book weren't buried among self- important chapters about academic politics.

[Cav · Rating 3 out of 5]

Madness and Memory was an interesting book that unfortunately left a bit to be desired for me...

Author Stanley Benjamin Prusiner is an American neurologist and biochemist. He is the director of the Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases at the University of California, San Francisco.
Prusiner discovered prions, a class of infectious self-reproducing pathogens primarily or solely composed of protein, with no nucleic DNA or RNA.

Stanley B. Prusiner:


Madness and Memory is more of an account of the discovery of the prions, than a book on the epidemiology of these proteins. Too bad, as I was hoping for more of a scientific look into the pathology of prions, and was not too interested in the long-form account of their discovery...
Unfortunately, I think the pathology was not covered in a more in-depth fashion here because the scientific understanding of them is still notably lacking.

Prusiner's writing is fairly technical at times here. Lots of scientific concepts and related jargon are presented throughout. Prusiner rattles off some very complex chemical and biological processes without providing the naive reader too much context and/or relevant foundational background to this material. This delivery will likely render the scientifically illiterate layperson completely lost at times. Points deducted for this failure of communication.
A somewhat tragically common problem that plagues many of the science books I've read; the authors assume a level of scientific literacy that may not be there in potential readers of their books. This gives the books the feel that they are written by scientists exclusively for other scientists...

Prusiner talks about disruptive innovations in the introduction of the book; Kodak and digital photography are briefly mentioned. Kodak failed to stay ahead of the curve, and did not manage to successfully capitalize on the advent of this new technology.
Prusiner also talks about his family history and early life in a bit too much detail here, IMHO.

The writing in the rest of the book tells the story of the discovery of these prions. Patients were presenting with a form of rapid and fatal dementia, thought to be caused by a "slow virus."
"Scrapies" in sheep is also covered here.
Prusiner describes the pushback he got from many of his colleagues as he progressed through his research to find the causal agent of these strange cases. He gets into quite a bit of detail on this topic; giving the reader a virtual blow-by-blow account of the opposition he faced forwarding his prion hypothesis, including many long-winded accounts of the disagreements and beefs between himself and many of his contemporaries. It was a bit much, tbh...

As mentioned, prions are a class of infectious misfolded protiens responsible for many diseases and disorders. Among them are:
• Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (CJD),
• Alzheimer’s,
• Parkinson’s,
• Lou Gehrig’s (ALS),
• Huntington’s disease,
• Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE),
• Frontotemporal dementias (FTDs), including posttraumatic forms called dementia pugilistica and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).

Proteins are comprised of various combinations of 20 different amino acids, which can spontaneously fold into complex lattice structures. Sometimes this folding process becomes disordered, and prions are the result. Prions are particularly pernicious pathogens, as they are extremely robust and heat-resistant. Prions are highly resistant to the routine methods of decontamination and sterilization. Prions have been demonstrated to be resistant to proteases, heat, radiation, and formalin. Destruction of prions requires hydrolysis or reduction or destruction of tertiary structure. They can be deactivated in a steam autoclave using a temperature of 270 °F (132 °C) at 21 psi for 90 minutes.

Normal and abnormal form of prion protein. Normal prion protein has amino acids in alpha helix with less than 5% of beta sheets. Abnormal prion protein is a misfolded protein, where majority of alpha helices are converted into beta sheets resulting in more than 50% of beta sheets. (Source: Mayo Foundation of Medical Education and Research):



**********************

Protien folding disorders caused by prions is an extremely interesting topic. I was looking forward to learning a lot more about prions here. Unfortunately, as mentioned above - most of the writing here focuses on the discovery of these proteins, and not on their pathology.
Prusiner's writing was also a bit dry more often than not...
3 stars for this one.

[Beth Cardova · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a scientist focused on prion research, I was really curious to read about the journey that led to the discovery of prions. I considered Prusiner to be a really interesting character and that proved to be right. Unfortunately in a bad way, as I found his manners repulsive. I understand it had to be extremely hard to prove his theory in front of and in spite of the whole world. I just feel like my "hero" did not meet my expectations and is not my hero anymore. His character is extremely egocentric and full of self-pity. I was really glad when he finally received the Nobel Prize as this meant the book has finally come to an end. The science parts help to understand the basis of prion research and I found this helpful. However, following Prusiner's repeated advice, I will stick to reading his papers in future.

[CK · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I was an undergrad I came to realise that there are two kinds of professors: the ones who are passionate about passing down the knowledge and actively engage in their lectures; and the ones who only wanted to do research and resented having to teach and actively hated undergrad students. Reading this book was like listening to a professor of the latter kind. This book was one of those books that I endured rather than enjoyed, cause mamma didn't raise no quitter. I gritted my teeth and counted down the pages.

As much as the topic fascinated me, the writing was dry and this book was a memoir in the most literal sense-- the author literally wrote a step-by-step recollection of every nitty gritty detail along the way.

I don't know how much science the author expects the average reader to know, spending your life in the ivory towers has that effect on people, but the author clearly overestimated the average reader's grasp on biology and science. Some of the rationale and interpretations for his experiments were pretty much incomprehensible. It's clear that the author has a passion but unfortunately he could not share this passion with the reader. I'd love to be able to follow his writing on the experiments and be like "wow that's brilliant", but instead I was left with "this super science mumble jumble is probably brilliant because who am I to argue with a Nobel prize laureate?"

It's a bit of a shame that the author took such an interesting topic and turned it into the literary equivalent of powdered cement. Maybe I'm just not smart enough to be his intended reader. 3 stars out of respect for a brilliant man, who just happens to be not very good at writing about science for a general audience.

[Erin Pallott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Firstly, I am grateful that Stanley Prusiner chose to write his account and story of the discovery of prions. These accounts continue to inspire the next generation of scientists and researchers. As an undergraduate myself, I love every opportunity to learn about the careers and journeys of other scientists.

Madness and Memory is a story of the scientific process of the discovery of prions from when Stanley Prusiner chose to pursue the topic of scrapie to future directions for neurodegenerative disease research. The book covers a lot of scientific detail and methods of how the landmarks in prion research were reached. There is also a massive emphasis on the conversations that happen between the research. The collaborative efforts with other researchers and the fierce controversy his work inspired are a major part of Stanley Prusiner's account.

While the arguments and battles of ideas are undoubtedly a critical part of the story, and I have always been a fan of the dramatics of passionate scientists, the writing sometimes descended into unnecessary, harsh comments which could be frankly described as petty. This is something that is reflected in many of the negative reviews I have read.

Overall, I did find plenty of enjoyment in the book and I have no regrets in reading it. The accounts of great minds are always valuable reads. I still recommend this book for anyone interested in the history of the prion research field. It is just a good idea to be aware before reading that a large portion of the book is dedicated to the negatives instead of the progress.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating autobiographical account of one of the most surprising scientific discoveries of the past few decades. The lofty opening quotes made me a bit wary, but this isn’t nearly as self-aggrandising as they would suggest. Frank and personally honest, yes, but also realistic and informative. This is the story of prions as Prusiner remembers it, and it’s a valuable book for that reason alone.

The backbone of the book is a detailed and lucid account of the process by which this scientific puzzle turned in to a significant discovery, complete with dead ends, contradictory data and alternative hypotheses. It’s really good pop sci writing. I particularly appreciated the little asides to expand on the technical nuance without breaking the flow of the story. It’s also the sort of thing I wished I’d read when I was a teenager for its strong sense of how an academic research career works. (I might have considered that route a lot earlier than I ultimately did!)

The intriguing part is Prusiner’s personal stake. The protein-only hypothesis for the spread of scrapie and similar diseases was met with vigorous scepticism from all quarters - even from Prusiner himself initially - and we get to really feel what it was like for him to have to try to build the collaborations and resources needed to explore the problem. Friendships are formed, strained, or lost over the issue and the eventual priority squabbles when prions start to become accepted. There’s a lot of academic back-biting and some genuinely remarkable characters. The tone seems to reflect Prusiner’s feelings at the time, shifting from a mixture of earnest, confused disappointment and warm collegiality to vindication alloyed with frustration as his ideas gain traction and the press starts to side with the staunchly anti-prion virologist community.

I don’t know that this is a definitive account of the discovery - goodness knows I’ll have to read a great deal more to get other participants’ takes on the controversies - but it’s a superb introduction to the science and an essential perspective on the history.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

This gets 4/5 stars only due to the sheer amount of background knowledge needed to understand the flow of the story. For example, I doubt that anyone who hasn't taken a genetics course in university or college would have been able to easily understand the section on the linkage studies he undertook. There was an attempt to have small sections of the text dedicated to explaining some of the basic biology, but the extraordinary amount of experimental work he conducted was also included, which might be off-putting to the layperson.

Nevertheless, the best way to describe this work would be an overwhelming honest account of Prusiner's struggles to both gain recognition and convince the scientific community of his work on prions. It follows the entire timeline from encountering his first patient with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), to the subsequent protein chemistry, molecular biology, and genetic studies he conducted to prove the existence of a completely new class of infectious agents. Additionally, he details how he navigated the politics of the academic world (securing lab space, tenure, etc.), and managing to emerge as a victor. Unabashedly name-dropping his opposition, he does not hold back his opinions on those who doubted his research- whether he is justified for his fiery temper is up to the reader to decide.

For those of us unfamiliar with prion research, it is only after reading this heavily condensed, first-hand account that one can understand how he was the sole recipient of the Nobel prize in Physiology or Medicine that year. But remarkably, the book does not end here. After the chapter where he receives the Nobel, Prusiner dedicates an entire chapter and epilogue to Alzheimer's and Parkinson's research. His call to action is commendable, and unfortunately, more relevant than ever in light of the recent NIH funding cuts. Overall, 10/10 if you have a scientific background and are looking for a summary of Prusiner's life's work on prions.

[Deborah Mills · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an engrossing medical/science whodunnit.
The victims started with sheep suffering from the disease scrapie, and progressed to humans suffering CJD ( Mad Cow disease) Lewy body dementia ( What the comedian Robin Williams suffered from) Parkinsons disease, Alzeimers and some early onset dementia. Half a million people die each year in the US from Alzheimes and 200 billion is spent caring for them but only half a billion is spent researching how it happens and what can be done to treat these kind of neurodegenerative diseases. - even less research now with current goverment stopping dementia research.

It wont spoil the ending to say that Dr Stanley Prusiner - the detective on the case discovered the criminal is a piece of protein that replicates and folds in unexpected ways, clogging brains with plaques. He formulated the word prion. Prions may not be the whole answer but it was an enormous leap forward in our understanding of neurodegenerative diseases made possible by his tenacity, years of painstaking research, funding by visionaries and collaboration with experts around the world, along with many unwilling rats and hamsters.

The story was full of twists and turns, and some serendipity. Hearing how Dr Prusiner was derided so severely for daring to suggest the criminel was not a 'virus' was reminiscent of how Semmelweis was treated for daring to encourage doctors to wash their hands.

Watching the investigation unfold will be most interesting to those with an interest in medical history and how science works.

[SueSue · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three and a half rounded down. This was more autobiography than I was looking for, and much less accessible science.

As an audiobook it was difficult to follow that science most of the time. Prusiner seems like one of those guys who's too smart to know how smart he is. He doesn't realize what the average pop-sci reader (I consider myself such a reader) needs to fully digest a story like this. E.g. less jargon and maybe a useful metaphor or two thrown in once in a while.

I did like how he addressed the criticisms of his own aggressiveness throughout his career. It made him sound more human than egotistical to me.

[Ever · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars. Deducting half a star for the inaccessibility of the content – while I think anyone could find Prusiner's story and its takeaways very compelling, those elements are masked by a considerable amount of technical language and details of his research process that would pose challenges for a non-scientific audience. That said, if you're interested in prions (like me!) and have a scientific background, Prusiner presents a dramatic and well-told report of his discovery. The writing and pacing were both excellent and the book reads like a thriller despite its niche topic.

[Ewa Ahmad · Rating 5 out of 5]

As much a sociological investigation as a scientific discovery. I have always had so much respect for this man, and it’s only aged over the years as a fondness for a colleague. Although the style may be lacking at times, this story is unbelievably true and captures exactly how the PI himself lived through this discovery. Arguably one of the most important scientific discoveries since modeling DNA.

[Karl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Prusiner's account,
Prions' enigmatic tale,
Madness unveiled.

Detailed experiments,
A biochemist's delight,
Compelling journey.

Challenged by dissent,
Fought for truth amidst abuse,
Courageous pursuit.

Defying convention,
Science's triumphs and struggles,
Noble new wisdom.

Prion's far reach shown,
Alzheimer's, Parkinson's too,
Urgent call for research.

Memories laid waste,
Aging world seeks hope and cure,
Concluding chapter's plea.

5-stars from me.

[Jenny Carr · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating account. At times it was very technical, and dragged a little, but overall an extremely fascinating account, which also highlights the opposition he had to the idea of prions. They believed it was impossible that it didn't follow the usual viral form. They did everything they could to contradict him, so I definitely admire his perseverance.

[Liane Mills · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have no medical or scientific background so a lot of the book wads a hard slog but it was fascinating how a lot of scientists reacted to another scientist proving them wrong. Egos are a terrible thing and caused this dedicated a lot of suffering over many years before his findings were accepted.
His experience was the Nobel prize was very interesting too.

[Mlw · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exciting story of battle for truth in medical research of the prion

Insights into roadblocks, obstacles, and competitive jealousies that almost killed the most important medical discovery of this generation. There is technical jargon related to research, but well worth the time.

[sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

proteins are so cool I want to do research on everything in the world. this book somehow made prion diseases scarier and less scary and was so freaking cool. also he predicts so much of what is currently ongoing in Alzheimer’s research at the end. so so cool I love science I love proteins I love

[Anna Wehrle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this for a brain mechanisms class. It was an interesting epic on the discovery of prions. I'm glad Prusiner decided to write this himself.

[Jairo Andrés Virviescas Peña · Rating 4 out of 5]

Magnífica historia sobre el descubrimiento de un nuevo modelo de enfermedad, contada por su protagonista, premio Nobel 1997; quien cuenta cronológicamente como con perseverancia cambió el paradigma.

[C. · Rating 2 out of 5]

contents of the book in and of themselves are really interesting; the author, however, is absolutely insufferable.

[Hari · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is like a real-life detective story, a story of how to understand prions. I really enjoy this book by Prof Prusiner. It shows how hard and interesting it is to find out the secret of nature and the normally untold parts of scientific discovery: the funding, the laboratory space, the tenure, the safety concern, and especially the fighting between scientists. We all should remember that Einstein never receives any Nobel prize for both his special and general realtivity theory. Big discoveries are very hard to be accepted.

[gem · Rating 3 out of 5]

Summary

The following book depicts Dr. Prusiner's long journey in the neurological research field, as he discovers the prion, unmasks the associated gene now known as PrP and investigates the underlying reason behind different prion strains. After detailing the Fore people of Papua New Guinea, whom after years of cannibalistic tradition had incurred a disease known as kuru, we get an in-depth explanation on Dr. Gajdusek's seminal experiment on this disease's transmissibility and subsequent methods used by Dr. Prusiner to identify, purify and structurally reveal the proteinaceous infectious particle, later known as the prion.

Review

Methodology Explanations

As a senior undergraduate in life sciences, I was thankfully able to understand the scientific logic of his study designs and wet lab techniques. For those who are not educated in this field, the book must’ve been nowhere near as enjoyable as other biomedical science books they’ve read previously. His writing is somewhat esoteric, ineffectively conveying advanced topics to general audiences.

Research Politics

Whereas one aspect of the work explained the ever evolving field of prion research, another aspect delved heavily into the politics behind academia. He details his anguish during which the media portrayed him as a fame-hungry scientist or when his colleague, Charles Weismann, sought to potentially overtake his prion research credit. Unfortunately, the way that Dr. Prusiner writes these confrontations are rather unprofessional at times, adding in obscure details that need not be mentioned to give context such as when he describes Gajdusek as overweight during their last encounters.

I respect Dr. Prusiner for his Nobel winning efforts in the study of prions. He is clearly a very intelligent man who has immeasurable expertise in his field. However, his seeming lack of intellectual humility and self-accountability for his own mistakes is what drives me away from fully celebrating this written work.

[Joyita · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this book, Stan Prusiner shares experiences from his quest for the elusive infectious agent for scrapie and CJD and the unending resistance he faced from a scientific research community unable to accept his revolutionary ideas. Unlike many books by other famous scientists which underplay the grueling efforts that led to successful research outcomes, this book adopts a candid approach to describing research life. Prusiner talks about his struggles with finding research funding, obtaining tenure, and finally convincing fellow researchers who remained incredulous of the theory that an infectious agent could be devoid of genetic material. With a highly detailed chronological account, the book, in a way, feels almost autobiographical despite the fact that Prusiner restricts it to his professional life with very limited mention of family. Some parts are a bit too heavy in technical detail (e.g. experimental protocols and the so-called "interludes"). While some of the interpersonal conflicts over the prion hypothesis are fundamental to the premise of this book, a full chapter on his getting tenure seemed largely irrelevant. The last chapter on prions in the context of neurodegenerative diseases was a bit disappointing with limited coverage, as was the part on Eric Kandel's work on memory prions.

[Pam Lindholm-levy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dr Prusiner searched for, found, purified, and tested in so many ways there is no longer any doubt that proteins he dubbed prions cause a number of neurological diseases. For his efforts, as well as those collaborators given ample credit in the book, he was awarded a Nobel prize in 1997. He fought for his idea in spite of disbelief and abuse from other scientists.
This book contains lots and lots and lots of experiment detail. It may not be for all readers. For me, as a microbiologist with a long-stamding interest in prions, it was compelling.
Dr Prusiner's last chapter reminds us that because of his data showing prion involvement in Alzheimer's, PTSD, Parkinson's, and other degenerative neurological diseases, there should be much more money spent on research to prevent them because many are developed as we age. And we are aging fast---thank you baby boomers. Heart disease and cancer get the lion's share of research money, but the toll of Alzheimer's, for instance, falls not only on the patient but on exhausted care givers, nursing homes, and Medicare (my addition).
Everyone should read the concluding chapter.

[Dan Graser · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is no doubt that Prusiner's work has led to an entirely new field of study and has given great new insights into the causes of diseases that were previously though to be caused by undetected viruses. However, this account seems more bent on setting the record straight with his fellow scientists and getting back at those who made this work difficult in the early-going. Sections with great scientific data and insight are rapidly juxtaposed with angry chapters that read like second-rate blog posts. I have massive respect for Dr. Prusiner's work, however, after winning so many awards including the Nobel Prize, I would have thought the minutiae of naysayers and hacks wouldn't have occupied so much time in this work (who the hell cares, you got a frickin Nobel Prize!) that could have gained much by laying down the future study of prion diseases and potential methods to generate treatments. No such material is here (also my edition was missing page 223...) and as such doesn't make for the most compelling reading.

[Herb Sonny · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a first-hand account of the discovery of the Prion, an infectious protein with no genetic material. I’m glad I first read The Structure of Scientific Revolutions: 50th Anniversary Edition before reading this book, because I was able to better understand why Dr. Stan Prusiner’s ground-breaking work was met with such hostile skepticism by the scientific community for so many years. But success is the sweetest revenge and Prusiner eventually won the Nobel Prize for his research. This is a good read for the layman, but does have some hairy technical passages to navigate.

[Bonnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found the sociology of science in the book quite fascinating. Non-scientists think of science as pure, dispassionate, evidence-based. But really the prejudices and careers of scientists play as big a role in what gets considered and accepted as the evidence. In addition, whether an idea gets a fair shot depends a lot on funding. The science was hard to follow and I just skimmed those sections. But definitely worth reading.