I Went to See the Elephant

Every man's life is an interesting story. When one of the leading physiologists of our time gathers his memories and opinions, his frustrations and achievements into an autobiography, he is sure to have an interested audience. And when these reminiscences are pithy, uninhibited, concise and specific the story may be instructive as well as fascinating. Dwight Ingle began life on an Idaho farm, moved with some difficulty through elementary and high school, graduated from college, and took up a career of research in physiology. He ultimately received a Ph.D. (in psychology) from the University of Minnesota. He worked in many outstanding laboratories-at the Mayo clinic, at the Cox Institute of the University of Pennsylvania, at the Upjohn Company, and at the Ben May Laboratories of the University of Chicago, where he finally became chairman of the Department of Physiology. Ingle's work has been of great importance in clarifying the influence of the adrenal cortex on metabolic processes. He never deviated from high standards of technical excellence, and he never allowed himself to be seduced into easy or "practical" problems. He followed his own inclinations and pursued the questions which interested him. In the course of his work he developed theoretical concepts of importance to experimenters in all biological fields. His philosophical attitude toward research ultimately led him to found and edit Perspectives in Biology and Medicine, which has held a unique position as a journal of ideas. The story of Ingle's growth and development is only a small part of what he spreads before us. He knew intimately most of the eminent endocrinologists of our time, and he writes of them as friends, colleagues and personalities in a way which will certainly intrigue their younger colleagues. He has strong ideas about a number of subjects, ranging from technicians' salaries and the blighting role of the personnel office in university life to the problems of education and integration of minority groups. In these discussions he follows no party line. Although himself now an administrator, he has serious fault to find with those who make administration their life work. Himself completely unprejudiced about race or religion, he has harsh words for those who would apply panaceas to the difficult social problems of our times. Although he has great sympathy for the novice and compassion for the uneducated, he has nothing but scorn for the inept, the lazy and the poseur. To his friends, this book recalls a fine friend and expert colleague; to those who do not know him, it introduces an honest and productive man.