Am J Epidemiol 2002; 156:93.
Copyright © 2002 by the
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
BOOK REVIEWS |
From the Editor
In two recent issues of the Journal, I outlined criteria for selection and rejection of books for review (1, 2). Thus, not surprisingly, many excellent books do not get a Journal review. Among them are some very interesting and enjoyable "reads." Let me tell you about three of my favorites: The Man Who Loved Only Numbers (3), The Professor and the Madman (4), and The Woman Who Knew Too Much (5).
Since most epidemiologists work with statisticians, it is interesting to read about a mathematician/scientist, Paul Erdos, who may have been the most prolific collaborator in the history of science (3). He is known to have shared authorship of important mathematical insights with more than 500 collaborators. In fact, collaboration with Erdos or one of his collaborators earns one an honorific "Erdos Number." My "Number" is "3"; that is, I have published in collaboration with a mathematician/statistician (E–2) who once collaborated with a mathematician (E–1) who had written a paper with Erdos! The book is a fascinating tale of eccentricity, brilliant originality, and fundamental mathematics.
The Professor and the Madman (4) is the story of the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary, arguably the most important authority on the English language. Again, because most epidemiologists are required to be "communicators," knowledge of how the language was codified is not only useful and informative but also entertaining. I am not going to reveal the enigma of the title of this book, although I guarantee you will not want to put it down until you have read all 242 pages.
I daresay many epidemiologists would consider my choice of a biography of Alice Stewart (5) disingenuous. Perhaps they are "put off" by her blatant activism regarding the harmful effects of low-level radiation exposure. Nevertheless, I have always regarded her comments regarding radiation and leukemia (6) to be among the more insightful testable hypotheses generated from epidemiologic observation. The book is, indeed, a saga of one of the most influential female scientists of the late 20th century.
I hope that these brief remarks will motivate readers to take a look at these books.
REFERENCES
- Winkelstein W. From the editor. (Book review). Am J Epidemiol 2002;155:485.
[Free Full Text] - Winkelstein W. From the editor. (Book review). Am J Epidemiol 2002;155:1080.
[Free Full Text] - Hoffman P. The man who loved only numbers. New York, NY: Hyperion Books, 1998.
- Winchester S. The professor and the madman. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers, Inc, 1998.
- Greene G. The woman who knew too much. Ann Arbor, MI: The University of Michigan Press, 2002.
- Stewart A, Webb J, Hewitt D. A survey of childhood malignancies. BMJ 1958;I:1495–508.
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