The Excitement and Fascination of Science: Reflection by Eminent Scientists

Nuclear physicist Emilio Segre offers the best reason that physicians and health professionals should read this collection of autobiographical reflections by over 110 scientists from 18 different scientific disciplines: "My father once told me, 'You are living on Fermi's crumbs' " (p 1361). Health care professionals today can provide excellent medical care to patients only by standing on the shoulders of the scientific giants (or living on the crumbs of these great men and women, to use the words of Segre's father) who have contributed so much to the basic scientific underpinnings of medicine and the fabric of our technological society. This two-volume collection has 18 sections organized by scientific discipline with 112 autobiographical chapters written by leaders in their fields. The 2338 pages present a mosaic of the scientific foundations of modern Western civilization. A sample of the vignettes, history, scientific information, and insights into the scientific method recounted in