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Immunity: How Elie Metchnikoff
Changed the Course of Modern Medicine
Highly Commended in the 2017 Medical Book Awards of the British Medical Association
The enigma of immunity began to lift around Christmas of 1882, when Russian zoologist Elie Metchnikoff peered into his microscope – and declared that he was watching a healing force in action ...
In this timely book, Luba Vikhanski documents Metchnikoff's remarkable comeback in the early 21st century: After nearly a century of neglect, his ideas on immunity and on the gut flora have again suddenly moved to the forefront of modern science.
In Metchnikoff's Footsteps
To tell Metchnikoff's story, Luba followed his international trail.
In Russia, she sought out reports filed on him by the star's secret police ...
In France, she uncovered a secret archive of a woman who all her life believed she was Metchnikoff's love child ...
See photos from places in which Metchnikoff lived and worked
Excerpts from Immunity
By and about Metchnikoff
Reviews
"Highly Commended in the 2017 BMA Medical Book Awards"
Category: Basis of Medicine
British Medical Association
"An engrossing scientific biography." — Nature magazine
"The story of a revolutionary era in medicine." — Washington Post
"A graceful biography ... the most intimate portrait available of this remarkable scientist."
— Bulletin of the History of Medicine Read the review
"The book deftly illustrates both the valiant struggles and the tragedies of Metchnikoff's life." — Foreword Reviews, a five-heart review
"Vikhanski is a great storyteller." — Agewise
"This book celebrates both the profession and the personal life of a turn-of-the-century giant." — Library Journal, a starred review
“An outstanding, enlightening and delightful biography... With details about atmosphere, fashion and behavior, the author beautifully captures the various eras through which Metchnikoff lived." — The Jerusalem Post Read the review
“A portrait that captures not only the man, but also the end-of-the-19th-century dynamism that fostered revolutions in art, politics, and science." — Kirkus Reviews Read the review
"Vikhanski’s meticulous account of this almost-forgotten scientist reminds us of just how important a role obsession and stubbornness play in research." — Booklist Read the review
Immunity has been listed in a roundup of “25 Amazing New Books for Spring” by the Mental Floss website . — Mental Floss
"A timely book." — Russian Life
“A sensitive, nuanced portrait, ... at times reads like a thriller, with enjoyable accounts of Metchnikoff’s fascination with intestinal 'autointoxication' and longevity, resulting in the celebrated introduction of probiotics to promote a healthy long lifespan.”
—Siamon Gordon, Emeritus Professor of Cellular Pathology at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of the Royal Society
“Elie Metchnikoff was one of the most remarkable scientists of the turn of the twentieth century, ... an immunologist ahead of his time, and also, in some ways, very much behind it. In Luba Vikhanski he has finally found a biographer who brings his gripping story to life in sprightly, engaged prose for the English-reading world.”
—Michael Gordin, Rosengarten Professor of Modern and Contemporary History, Princeton University