The Fevers of Reason: New and Selected Essays

by Gerald Weissmann

Overview

"America's most interesting and important essayist." —Eric Kandel, Nobel Prize–winning author of The Age of Insight

"[Gerald Weissmann] bridges the space between science and the humanities, and particularly between medicine and the muses, with wit, erudition, and, most important, wisdom." —Adam Gopnik

In this diverting collection of essays, Gerald Weissmann looks back on decades of a career spent working at the intersection of the arts and sciences. The Fevers of Reason features some of his best and most representative works, alongside eleven new essays never before published in book form. Masterfully drawing from an array of subject areas and time periods, he tackles everything from Ebola to Eisenhower, Zika to Zola, Darwin to Dawkins, showcasing his singular contribution to humanistic science writing.

Gerald Weissmann (August 7, 1930 – July 10, 2019) was a physician, scientist, editor, and essayist whose collections include The Fevers of Reason: New and Selected Essays; Epigenetics in the Age of Twitter: Pop Culture and Modern Science; Mortal and Immortal DNA: Science and the Lure of Myth; and Galileo's Gout: Science in an Age of Endarkenment.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781942658320
Publisher:	Bellevue Literary Press
Publication date:	03/13/2018
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Gerald Weissmann (August 7, 1930 – July 10, 2019) was a physician, scientist, editor, and essayist whose collections include The Fevers of Reason: New and Selected Essays; Epigenetics in the Age of Twitter: Pop Culture and Modern Science; Mortal and Immortal DNA: Science and the Lure of Myth; and Galileo's Gout: Science in an Age of Endarkenment.

Table of Contents

Prefatory Note

Going Viral 15

1 Arrowsmith and CRISPR at the Marine Biological Laboratory 17

2 Ebola and the Cabinet of Dr. Proust 24

3 Zika, Kale, and Calligraphy: Ricky Jay and Matthias Buchinger 31

4 Ike on Orlando: "Every Gun Is a Theft" 37

5 Nobel on Columbus Avenue 44

6 Lupus and the Course of Empire 50

7 Groucho on the Gridiron 57

8 Apply Directly to Forehead: Holmes, Zola, and Hennapecia 65

Science Fictions 71

9 Swift-Boating Darwin: Alternative and Complementary Science 73

10 Spinal Irritation and the Failure of Nerve 79

11 Galton's Prayer 91

12 Dr. Doyle and the Case of the Guilty Gene 97

Two for the Road 111

13 Swift-Boating "America the Beautiful": Katharine Lee Bates and a Boston Marriage 113

14 Alice James and Rheumatic Gout 122

15 Free Radicals Can Kill You: Lavoisier and the Oxygen Revolution 134

16 Dr. Blackwell Returns from London 141

17 Call Me Madame 160

Beside the Golden Door 167

18 Welcome to America: Einstein's Letter to the Dean 169

19 Modernism and the Hippocampus: Kandel's Vienna 176

20 A Taste of the Oyster: Jan Vileck's Love and Science 181

21 Richard Dawkins Lights a Brief Candle in the Dark 187

22 Eugenics and the Immigrant: Rosalyn Yalow 192

23 Cortisone and the Burning Cross 197

Ave atque Vale 203

24 Lewis Thomas and the Two Cultures 205

Notes 223

Acknowledgements 253

Index 255

Editorial Reviews

Praise for The Fevers of Reason

"A rich layering of past, present, science, and literature to present diverse takes on the issue at hand. . . . Weissmann not only endeavors to connect the realms of literature and medicine, but also to create community among readers in light of class, race, religion, and age." —Glassworks Magazine

"Essays that brim with knowledge and bubble with attitude." —Kirkus Reviews

"Highly accessible, entertaining. . . . Every current theme, including buzz about free radicals and the 2014 Ebola outbreak, is tempered with a historical anecdote. Here, too, are cautionary concerns about henna tattoos, reminders to beware of 'alternative science,' and lots of humor. Weissmann's science writing is juicy and conversational." —Booklist

"Expertly hopscotch[es] across all sorts of topics. . . . Weissmann's humanist, sometimes sardonic, voice binds together disparate strands to show how all human endeavor is linked. . . . Weissmann clearly sees how history obfuscates the work of women, people of color and immigrants, and tries to alter that. . . . Anyone with an interest in American scientific or literary history will enjoy this collection." —Shelf Awareness for Readers

"Weissmann's project is to show how science and culture aren't as distant as often thought, and the best of the essays are wonderfully stimulating and exciting in how they make this point. . . . Admirers will be captivated anew." —Publishers Weekly

Select Praise for Gerald Weissmann

"Gerald Weissmann is Lewis Thomas's heir." —Robert Coles

"Weissmann has a strong and well-informed interest, unusual for a scientist, both in poetry and in art." —Freeman Dyson

"[Weissmann] bridges the space between science and the humanities, and particularly between medicine and the muses, with wit, erudition, and, most important, wisdom." —Adam Gopnik

"America's most interesting and important essayist." —Eric Kandel

"How I envy the reader coming upon Dr. Weissmann's elegant, entertaining essays for the first time!" —Jonas Salk

"Dr. Weissmann's juggling with the balls of global politics, biology, medicine, and culture in the framework of history is breathtaking." —Bengt Samuelsson, Nobel Laureate and former chairman of the Nobel Foundation

"The premier essayist of our time, Weissmann writes with grace and style." —Richard Selzer

"An absolutely first-rate writer." —Kurt Vonnegut

"[Weissmann] is a man of wide culture, a captivating and graceful writer." —New Yorker

"Weissmann introduces us to a new way of thinking about the connections between art and medicine." —New York Times Book Review

"Oliver Sacks, Richard Selzer, Lewis Thomas . . . Weissmann is in this noble tradition."—Los Angeles Times

"As a belles-letterist, Weissmann is the inheritor of the late Lewis Thomas . . . Like Thomas, he's a gifted researcher and clinician who writes beautifully. Unlike Thomas, he is an original and indefatigable social historian as well." —Boston Globe

"He writes as a doctor, a medical scientist, a knowing lover of art and literature and a modern liberal skeptic. But more than anything else, Weissmann writes as a passionate and wise reader." —New Republic

"Weissmann is a master of the essay form. His witty and elegant prose makes the toughest subject matter not only accessible but entertaining." —Barnes and Noble Review

"[Weissmann] is a Renaissance Man. . . . He'll stretch your mind's hamstrings." —Christian Science Monitor

"[Weissmann's essays] intertwine the profound connections of science and art in the context of our modern era . . . to illuminate the ongoing challenges scientists face in dealing with scrutiny and criticism, from colleagues and from our broader society." —Science

"Erudite, engaging, and accessible." —Library Journal

"Weissmann models his work after that of his mentor, Lewis Thomas. . . . His ideas . . . are every bit as important." —Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher