Why another book about vaccines? There are already a few extremely well-written medical textbooks that provide comprehensive, state-of-the-art technical reviews regarding vaccine science. Additionally, in the past decade alone, a number of engrossing, provocative books have been published on various related issues ra- ing from vaccines against specific diseases to vaccine safety and policy. Yet there remains a significant gap in the literature - the history of vaccines. Vaccines: A Biography seeks to fill a void in the extant literature by focusing on the history of vaccines and in so doing, recounts the social, cultural, and scientific history of vaccines; it places them within their natural, historical context. The book traces the lineage - the "biography" - of individual vaccines, originating with deeply rooted medical problems and evolving to an eventual conclusion. Nonetheless, these are not "biographies" in the traditional sense; they do not trace an individual's growth and development. Instead, they follow an idea as it is conceived and dev- oped, through the contributions of many. These are epic stories of discovery, of risk-takers, of individuals advancing medical science, in the words of the famous physical scientist Isaac Newton, "by standing on the shoulders of giants. " One grant reviewer described the book's concept as "triumphalist"; although meant as an indictment, this is only partially inaccurate.

This book is an account of a major historical event, in the world of medicine. As the son of one of the lead scientists who developed the vaccine for meningococcal meningitis, Andrew Artenstein has a unique perspective on the story. In the Blink of an Eye shares his experience.

The History and Biography of Vaccines against Infectious Diseases is a multi-authored book, written for an academic audience but accessible to a general readership as well. The book examines the human stories that underlie the development of vaccines against infectious diseases. Each chapter traces the lineage of a vaccine by examining the people behind the scientific hypotheses and discoveries that led to vaccine breakthroughs. These stories are firmly anchored in their historical context, as the "biography" of a vaccine generally has its origins in a medical problem rooted within a social context that subsequently engages scientists and enlists others in the eventual solution. A prominent theme woven throughout the book is the interdependence of incremental scientific advances and investigators on one another and how such advances ultimately led to practical, preventive solutions to major public health problems in society. Additionally, the human aspect of various pivotal events in the histories of specific vaccines are illustrated this includes scientific and political hurdles and details of clinical trial controversies. In this fashion the work interweaves scientific themes, personal stories of those involved, and the sociohistorical context in which they worked in a manner that illustrates their inter-relatedness and provides the reader with exciting accounts of these advances.

The history of vaccination parallels the history of human scientific endeavor and illustrates a number of important precepts common to all scientific inquiry: major advances generally stem from incremental progress that itself derives from the accumulation of ordered, experimental observations synthesized from a variety of fields; landmark discoveries generally do not occur in a vacuum but are instead based on expanding pre-existing scientific thought; advances in technology inherently drive advances in science, and both are frequently products of specific unmet needs. Perhaps most importantly, however, is that the history of vaccines and vaccination really represents the individual and collective stories of inquisitive minds, thought leaders, risk-takers and those that stood "on the shoulders of giants" to achieve success in their field.

About the Editor:

Andrew W. Artenstein, MD, FACP, FIDSA, is Physician-in-Chief in the Department of Medicine at Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island. He is Director of the Center for Biodefense and Emergining Pathogens, and is also an Associate Professor of Medicine and Community Health at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University.
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