Choice Review

Istvan Hargittai (Budapest Univ. of Technology and Economics) and Magdolna Hargittai (Hungarian Academy of Sciences) offer the sixth and final volume in a series of 42 interviews with renowned scientists in the biomedical sciences, chemistry, and physics. The purpose of these interviews is for other scientists and the general public to better understand the nature of science and how scientists work. Both personal and professional aspects are covered in an attempt to understand all of the multifaceted aspects of the lives of these scientists. Some chapters are written in a synthesized narrative form while others consist of a series of questions and responses. The book begins with Francis Crick, one of the most famous scientists of the 20th century, who always had close collaborators (i.e., James Watson) to discuss his major scientific breakthroughs. Another fascinating interview is with David Baltimore, who received the 1975 Nobel Prize for his discovery of reverse transcriptase and was president of the California Institute of Technology from 1997 to 2006. Baltimore also is known for his role in an alleged scientific misconduct case, which he discusses explicitly in the interview. The book contains nice photographs taken by the interviewers, as well as historical photographs. Summing Up: Recommended. General readers; faculty. J. Z. Kiss Miami University