“I am not a doctor, but a chemist!” That’s what Pasteur said about himself. And yet, how much does medicine owe him?
Patrice Debré, a doctor himself, pays a heartfelt tribute to Louis Pasteur in his book, which, aside from being a detailed biography of this scientist, also gives us a lesson in medicine.
The reader will enjoy this book where they will discover the principles of disease transmission, vaccines, immunology, microbes, viruses, and bacilli. Patrice Debré narrates the history of medicine, the rivalries among doctors, chemists, biologists, and physicists. The academies envy each other. Scientists quarrel, and Pasteur will have to fight hard before proving himself and continuing his research.
He is not a doctor; he says so himself. The medical community criticizes his work, contests it with bad faith. Louis Pasteur continues his research, starting with animals, the farm, anthrax, and finally, rabies, where he will triumph over his adversaries, becoming famous worldwide.
Born in Dôle in 1822 and dying in 1895 in Marne la Coquette, he spanned the 19th century. After his studies, he first specialized in the study of crystals and gradually moved to chemistry, biology, and medicine. The greatest scientific genius who advanced medical science was not, as he himself said, a doctor. Perhaps this is the paradox of the man.
