L'oeuvre De Louis Pasteur

At one time or another every investigator probably finds himself wishing that he were able to review everything known about a given subject, so that he might see it altogether, digest it, evaluate better his own research, and proceed with his study in full recognition of what others did before him. Few are able to reach this goal, but among these few is Professor Beach. And because with diligence, candor, and a critical sense he wrote down what he collected and learned, others may likewise view this field as a whole and be correspondingly better prepared for experimental work. In his very engaging preface the author remarks: "[The present book] is a summary of existing knowledge of hormones and behavior, a compendium of what others have done and have concluded. .. Its role is not the exposition of a thesis, but the supplying of a body of facts and references. It is not a living organism but an inanimate tool and as a tool it may play a useful and important part." That it will indeed prove a useful tool seems almost certain. In providing this survey of well over seven hundred publications, material was drawn from at least four academic disciplines which are not often so brought together, viz., psychology, physiology (especially of the endocrines and nervous system), biochemistry, and anatomy, particularly neuro-anatomy. Investigators in all of these fields will find themselves using this volume for the wealth of information it contains. It is true that most of the material deals with sex-determined behavior patterns such as courting, mating, and the like; but other types of behavior are also discussed, even though the brevity of the discussion in many instances emphasizes only a paucity of data and a need for more adequate study. One conclusion made clear is that although we may be able to describe it, we shall not understand the influence of the endocrines upon behavior until considerably more is known about the biochemistry of the central nervous system and the specific metabolic actions of each of the various hormones. This little book presents in readable form five lectures that were given at the Pasteur Celebration in Quebea and in Montreal, Canada, in the winter of 1945/46. Simonnet has selected as topics for the five lectures subjects to which Pasteur contributed so greatly, namely: "La Dissymetrie Moleculaire," "Les Fermentations," "Les Generations Spontanees," "Maladies Microbiennes, Virus et Vaccins," …