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IMMUNOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS, 19(1), 93-94 (1990)
BOOK REVIEW
A HISTORY OF IMMUNOLOGY
A.M. Silverstein
Academic Press, New York, 1989; hardbound, 422 pages, .$ 39.95
This erudite and well-documented work comprises a post-prefa- tory disquisition "On History and Historians", 12 chapters, 3 appen- dices : "The Calendar of Immunological Progress", "Nobel Prize High- lights in Immunology" and a "Biographical Dictionary", followed by a glossary and name and subject indices. The 12 chapters are: 1. Theories of Acquired Immunity; 2. The Royal Experiment on Immuni- ty, 1721-1722; 3 . Cellular Versus Humoral Immunity: Determinants and Consequences of an Epic Nineteenth-Century Battle; 4. Theories of Antibody Formation; 5. The Concept of Immunological Specificity; 6. Immunological Specificity, Continued; 7. Horror Autotoxicus: The
Concept of Autoimmunity; 8. The Donath-Landsteiner Autoantibody: The Incommensurable Languages of Immunological Dispute; 9. Allergy and
Immunopathology: The Price of Immunity; 10. Anti-antibodies and Anti- idiotype Immunoregulation, 1899-1904; Transplantation and Immunoge-
netics; 12. Magic Bullets and Poisoned Arrows: The Uses of Antibody. Each chapter ends with a thorough, sequential bibliography.
There is little doubt that in order to write a good history of immunology, one needs, in the first place, to be an experienced im-
munologist. And there also is little doubt that one requires, in ad- dition, a thorough insight in historical methods, and an exceptio- nally balanced judgement. Without each and all of these prerequisi- tes one is unlikely to make a success of such a delicate enterprise,
as was evident from another attempt, reviewed earlier in this Jour- nal, Is. 833 (1989). Dr. Silverstein clearly does have all the re- quired qualities. The book is thorough, balanced and well-written.
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94 BOOK REVIEW
This History of Immunology is highly recommended to all immunologists;
it also can be put to excellent use as an unconnnonly lucid introduc-
tory Immunology text for medical students and graduate students in
immunology.
Care1 J. van Oss
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IMMUNOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS, 19(1), 95-97 (1990)
BOOK REVIEW
IMlWNOLOGY 1930-1980 Essays on the History of Immunology
P.M.H. Mazumdar, Ed.
Wall & Thompson, Toronto, 1989; harbound, x + 307 pages, $39.95
This t s a collection of 18 essays by 18 very eminent immunolo- gists, each describing the development and history of his particular
immunological sub-discipline. The 18 essays are: 1) The Conception iind Birth of Burnet's Clonal Selection Theory, by G.L. Ada; 2) The Coming of Age of the Clonal Selection Theory, by G.J.V. Nossal; 3 )
Down-Regulation and Tolerance: The Trail from the Past, by B. Cinader;
4)Is This Theory Necessary? by D.W. Talmage; 5) Metaphors in Immuno-
logy, by F. Karush; 6) The Contribution of Synthetic Antigens to Our
Understanding of The Immune Response, by M. Sela; 7) Some Reminiscen-
ces on the Contribution of Cancer Research to Immunology in the 1950s; by M. Potter; 8) Two Decades of the Antibody Response: 1950-1970, by A.B. Stavitsky; 9) Interaction Between Immunology and Genetics-Blood Group Systems as Important Early Models and as Tools, by R. Grubb; 10)Cell Mediate Immunity, by B.H. Waksman; 11) The Discovery of Thy- roid Autoimmunity, by I.M. Roitt; 12) Models for Autoimmunity, by W.O. Weigle; 13) The Development of Immunosuppressive Agents from X-rays to Cyclosporin, by H. Sttlhelin; 14) The Relationship Between
the Immune System and the Nervous System: Old and New Strategies, by
B.D. Jankovih; 15) The Early History of Soluble Factors, by H.S.
Lawrence; 16) SRS-A Leukotrienes: From Definition to Biologic Impli- cations, by K.F. Austen; 17) Immunodiplomacy: The Story of the World
Health Organization's Immunology Research Programme, 1961-1975, by
H.C. Goodman; 18) On the Origin of Cancer Imuno-Diagnostics, by G. I. Abelev. It must be said that the format of having older experts
write their own impression of the development of their area of spe-
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96 BOOK REVIEW
cialisation may well be one of the best ways of conveying to posteri- ty 'how things really were".
The unnumbered chapters however, which were not written by immu- nologists, are not nearly as informative and authoritative as the chapters written by experts on the history of the science to which they themselves so substantially contributed. The clear intention
of the book's editor appears to be to stress the influence Burnet's
clonal selection theory (CST) on the further development of immunolo-
gy as a science. In the introduction the editor attempts to prove this with a graph, showing the increase in the number of new journals
dealing with immunology, after the year 1957 (the birth of the CST).
However, no causative link between the CST and the growth of immunolo-
gy could be demonstrated other than by invoking a vague ''post hoc propter connection. In the prologue, also by the editor,
the old template theory of antibody formation is discussed. This is
a rather awkward chapter: there is a lot of name-dropping, but the
scientific background does not appear to have been well understood.
The fact is that the protein-template theory never made much sense
from a chemical point of view, although this was not as crystal-clear
then as it became after Watson and Crick's discoveries. And for a
while Pauling's involvement gave the template theory a certain degree of unmerited credibility.
Finally, the books ends with a rather silly epilogue by A.M. Moulin. This chapter abounds with quasi-philosophical disquisitions,
annoying word-games, murky speculations on the end of immunology, and condescending judgements on opinions held in the past by various immunologists. The book is well-printed and illustrated with photos
of a number of authors, and with some graphs.
errors, but (p. 294) the use of "epitome" for "epitope" is somewhat
misleading. In chapter 3 the use of "down-regulation", for "inhibi- tion" or "suppression", is awkward and unnecessary. If one were to
continue this trend, we would soon, so help us, see "up-regulation" in popular use, when only "enhancement" is intended.
There are not many
One would be tempted to come to the c u r i o u s conclusion that the
most cogent and reliable history of a fairly new discipline should be
written by elderly and reasonably eminent practitioners of that dis-
cipline. For another excellent history of immunology, written by a
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BOOK REVIEW 97
respected senior immunologist, see A. Silverstein, A History of Im-
munology, Academic Press, New York, 1989, also reviewed in this issue
of Immunological Investigations. On the other hand, the history of such a discipline, written by non-practitioners of that discipline, would tend to remain half-baked rubbish.
However, even though the book is marred by the admixture of a
few peripheral sub-standard contributions, the 18 numbered chapters
written by specialists in their fields comprise, after all, 83% of the
work. These 18 chapters will prove indispensable to the serious study
of the history of immunology. The book is therefore highly recommen-
ded to all those interested in the history of that relatively young
discipl ine. Care1 J. van Oss
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IMMUNOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS, 1 9 ( 1 ) , 99 (1990)
BOOK REVIEW
PROVOCATIVE CHALLENGE PROCEDURES: BACKGROUND AND METHODOLOGY
Sheldon L. Specter
Futura Publishing Company, 1989, 672 pages, $92.00
This book provides the practical background information necessary for performing challenges to various organ systems in the body, and
is directed to the practicing physician. The primary focus is chal-
lenge via inhalation and is the topic of 12 out of 22 Chapters. Several chapters discuss the relevant physiology, for example, air- way function, autonomic nervous system physiology, and mast cell
he t e r ogene it y . The diagnosis of allergy, nasal provocative testing, conjuncti-
val challenge, and immediate skin testing are also covered in sepa-
rate chapters. The book provides useful information but the organi- zation is somewhat unclear, and practical chapters are mixed with more theoretical ones. Nevertheless, it is recommended as a useful
reference for the practitioner.
Wendy C. Duncan-Hewitt, Ph.D.
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IMMUNOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS, 19(1), 101 (1990)
BOOK REVIEW
ADVERSE REACTIONS TO DRUG FORMULATION AGENTS. A HANDBOOK OF EXCIPIENTS.
(Clinical Pharmacology, Vol. 14) M. Weiner, I . L . Bernstein, Eds.
Marcel Dekker, Inc., 1989, 463 pages, $125.00
This volume was written in order to address the complex pharma- cologic role of excipients in a pharmaceutical formulation and con- sists of five parts. Part I addresses the assessment of adverse re- actions to excipients, and discusses direct toxicity, immunotoxicity, hypersensitivity and allergy, intolerance, idiosyncrasy, and pseudo- allergic reactions. This discussion is follawed by a chapter in which the diagnostic procedures for hypersensitivity and pseudoaller- gic reactions are described.
In Part 11, the adverse effects of excipients are discussed by class of excipient, i.e. , bulk flavouring materials, coatings, agents, colours, etc. Part I11 addresses the allergic and pseudoallergic reactions elicited by excipients in the same manner. Part IV focuses on reactions to materials med in the construction of devices. The fifth part is an extensive tabulation of inactive ingredients. The book provides information which will be quite useful for practitio- ners, especially drug information pharmacists.
Wendy C. Duncan-Hewitt, Ph.D.
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IMMUNOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS, 19(1), 103 (1990)
BOOK REVIEW
NEUROIMMLTNE NETWORKS: PHYSIOLOGY AND DISEASES
Edward J. Goetzl and Novera H. Spec to r , eds.
Alan R. Liss, I n c . , New York, 1989; Hardbound 278 pages, $69.50
The f i r s t t h r e e s e c t i o n s of t h i s volume, a t o t a l of 21 a r t ic les ,
d e a l w i t h t h e physiology of nervous-immune system i n t e r a c t i o n s . The
t o p i c s covered include t h e cel ls involved, s o l u b l e f a c t o r s produced
and recognized by both systems, and inne rva t ion of lymphoid organs.
The rest of t h e book, a t o t a l of 12 art icles, is devoted t o t h e pos-
s i b l e r o l e s f o r t h e neuro- immune network i n pathology. Discussions
cover v i r a l i n f e c t i o n s of both systems, r e l a t i o n s h i p s between beha-
v i o r and immune responsiveness , r o l e of t h e neuro-immune network i n
host de fenses , and the autoimmune components of a l l e r g i c e n c e p h a l i t i s
and Parkinson 's d i sease . The f i n a l paper d e a l s w i t h immune responses
i n r e l a t i o n t o neu ra l t r a n s p l a n t a t i o n .
Overall, it is a very i n t e r e s t i n g and informative volume. The
t i t l e d e s c r i b e s t h e con ten t f a i r l y w e l l . However, i n v e s t i g a t o r s
w i th very l i t t l e knowledge concerning t h e b a s i c s of t h e nervous and
immune system would be well-advised t o look elsewhere f o r t h i s back-
ground information.
Laur i e J. Quackenbush
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IMMUNOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS, 19(1), 105 (1990)
BOOK REVIEW
NEUROIMMUNOLOGICAL DISEASES: RECENT ADVANCES I N PATHOGENESIS AND TREATMENT
Proceedings of an I n t e r n a t i o n a l Symposium sponsored by The Japan I n t r a c t a b l e Diseases Research Foundation
Akiro I g a t a , ed.
Un ive r i s ty of Tokyo P res s 1988; hardbound 409 p. $97.50
This volume i s divided i n t o 8 s e c t i o n s covering v a r i o u s t o p i c s
w i t h i n t h e realm of neuroimmunological d i seases . Each s e c t i o n begins
wi th an extremely h e l p f u l summary of t h e papers contained i n t h a t
s e c t i o n . The t o p i c s covered include r e t r o v i r a l i n f e c t i o n s and t h e
nervous system - focusing on HTLV-1 and mul t ip l e s c l e r o s i s (9 a r t i -
c l e s ) ; common a n t i g e n between t h e nervous and immune systems and t h e i r
poss ib l e r o l e s i n d i seases (11 a r t i c l e s ) ; t h e immunological b a s i s
f o r demyelinating d i s o r d e r s (14 ar t ic les) and p a r a n e o p l a s t i c d i s e a -
ses (8 a r t i c l e s ) ; myasthenia g r a v i s , i n terms of humoral (9 a r t i c l e s )
and cel l -mediated (7 a r t i c l e s ) immune responses; and t h e p o s s i b i l i -
ties f o r t he use of immunomodulation i n t h e t reatment of nervous
system d i s e a s e s (7 a r t i c l e s ) .
This book is a f a i r l y good summary of t h e r e s e a r c h approaches
t o what are termed " i n t r a c t a b l e neu ro log ica l d i seases" - m u l t i p l e
s c l e r o s i s , myasthenia g r a v i s , pa raneop las t i c d i s o r d e r s . Occasiona-
l y , t h e r e are problems w i t h the use of Eng l i sh , but t hese do not
d e t r a c t from t h e messages t h a t are conveyed. Some p r i o r knowledge
concerning t h e b a s i c of immune and nervous system f u n c t i o n is needed
before t h e information contained i n these proceedings can be f u l l y
appreciated.
Laur i e J. Quackenbush
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