312 Magnetic Resonance Imaging 0 Volume 5. Number 4, 1987

The book comprises four sections describing: solid and concise but nonetheless detailed overview of the state NMR studies of biological systems, high resolu- different applications of NMR to the study of biology tion NMR of biological macromolecules, NMR imag- and medicine. ing and in vivo spectroscopy, providing an excellent

LE CHANT DES PROTONS (L’1.R.M. SANS PEINE?)

BY ALAIN COUSSEMENT Distributed by Vigot, Paris. 142 pages. Price: FF. 150

Reviewed by Francis Smith Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, Aberdeen, Scotland

For the Francophone, the Song of the Protons or the physics of Radiology over the past fifteen years MRI without pain is a delightful explanation of the and his explanation of the physics of MRI is simple, theory and science of magnetic resonance imaging. straightforward and at times lighthearted. The author explains in simple terms the principles of I would certainly recommend it to all French speak- magnetism, NMR and image production using NMR. ing students of MRI and look forward to seeing it He is a physicist who works in a Radiology Depart- translated into English so that a wider readership can ment and who has published a number of books on benefit from this excellent little book.

A MACHINE CALLED INDOMITABLE

BY SONNY KLEINFIELD

Published by Times Books, New York. 250 pages. Price: $16.95 Reviewed by Dr. Robert Byck

Professor of Psychiatry and Pharmacology, Yale University School of Medicine

Readers of this journal are not likely to be technolog- ically enlightened by “A Machine Called Indomita- ble”. This book by New York Times reporter Sonny Kleinfield is breezy in style, casual with facts and presents a grossly distorted picture of medical re- search. Rivalries and infighting in science have been well presented before, notably by Nicolas Wade in “The Nobel Duel”. Modern historians have, with the use of careful documentary research, fully recreated the intricacies of complex group efforts as Bliss did in “The Story of Insulin”. This standard is in no way approached in the present book.

Unfortunately Mr. Kleinfield seems to have used a single source for all of his scientific knowledge and that source is the subject of his story. As a result, the book is a form of “as told to” autobiography with all of the pimples and warts showing. Dr. Damadian is outspoken in his criticisms of the “system” of modern scientific research and there is some truth in most of

what he says. The disservice of this book is the impli- cation that anger, paranoia and narcissism are the substance of science. This results in a chronicle of the interpersonal behavior of many of the participants in the birth of MRI but leaves the reader bewildered as to what the characters were doing. A sophisticated reader with no knowledge of MRI will never be able to figure out what the science was about. This is a story of applied technology rather than science. The machine of the title is the first body imager. The gran- diose naming of the machine is typical of the style of its inventor who, as the book relates, is not noted for conservative statements. The book tells the personal story of Dr. Damadian and his varied range of interests in science. There are many polemical state- ments which seem to be the result of the author’s un- willingness to consult a range of information sources. The extreme antiestablishment bias of the inventor diffuses broadly and often generates exaggerated mis-