Review
"The drama of Schwartz's book...is in the slow coming together of several historical strands of scientific research, given the momentum of a detective story by his personification of the book's malign protagonist: a rogue protein given to feints and counterattacks." - Irish Times; "[Schwartz] succeeds in formulating a history of research on TSEs that captivates the reader - science and storytelling at their best." - British Medical Journal (BMJ); "Maxime Schwartz develops the history of TSE as a mystery novel.... Schwartz poses questions, suggests possible answers, and then describes the scientific advances that produced the answers. The book...should appeal to a wide range of readers." - Nature; "Schwartz's fully engrossing, two-century-plus detective story provides a thoroughgoing history of the discovery of 'mad cow' and related diseases that also illuminates the ways in which science works. I could not put this book down." - Jon Beckwith, author of Making Genes, Making Waves; "Rarely have I read a book as scary, interesting, informative and enjoyable." - John E. Talbott, University of California, Santa Barbara"
Product Description
Originally published to much acclaim in France, this scientific thriller, updated with a foreword by best-selling author Marion Nestle, tells of the hunt for the cause of an enigmatic class of fatal brain infections, of which mad cow disease is the latest incarnation. In gripping, nontechnical prose, Maxime Schwartz details the deadly manifestations of these diseases throughout history, describes the major players and events that led to discoveries about their true nature, and outlines our current state of knowledge. The book concludes by addressing the question we all want answered: should we be afraid?
