The Birth of the Cell

This vivid book tells a story that spans three centuries and crosses many national boundaries—a story of scientific discovery that fundamentally changed the way we understand the basis of life. Henry Harris, one of the world’s leading cell biologists, here provides a strikingly original account of how scientists came to understand that the bodies of all living things are composed of microscopic units that we now call cells. Harris turns to the primary literature—the original texts, scientif...