Lister wrongly believed that his personal story had little bearing on his scientific and surgical achievements. Ideas are never created in a vacuum, and Lister’s life very much attests to that truth. From the moment he looked through the lens of his father’s microscope to the day he was knighted by Queen Victoria, his life was shaped and influenced by his circumstances and the people around him. Like all of us, he saw his world through the prism of opinions held by those whom he admired most: Joseph Jackson, a supportive father and accomplished microscopist; William Sharpey, his instructor at
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A summary of the book, basically.
