For the Love of Enzymes
The Odyssey of a Biochemist
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Harvard University Press
Published:1st Oct '91
Should be back in stock very soon
In 1645 the Japanese samurai Musashi Miamoto wrote A Book of Five Rings, which described the attitudes necessary for individual success. Though he was a swordsman, his book was not limited to combat but addressed the much broader question of how to achieve excellence in life through study, discipline, and planning. It is still avidly read in Japan today. Arthur Kornberg’s book is a modern-day Book of Five Rings that replaces the medium of swordsmanship with that of biochemistry, particularly enzymology. As Kornberg describes his successive research problems, the challenges they presented, and the ultimate accomplishments that resulted, he provides us with a primer in the strategies needed to do scientific work of great significance. Moreover, these strategies are played out in the context of solving some of the great biochemical problems of the twentieth century.
The ability to manipulate and alter DNA fired a revolution that forever changed the nature of biology. Arthur Kornberg is a primary architect of that revolution, arguably one of the two or three most important biologists of this time. Prior to Kornberg, genetic information and later DNA were imbued by biologists with an almost vitalistic aura. Kornberg demonstrated that DNA is a molecule synthesized by enzymes, like all other chemical constituents of the cell. More important, he trained a school of scientists who focused on and discovered many of the enzymatic activities that act on DNA. It is these enzymes in particular that allow modern “genetic engineering.”
For the Love of Enzymes does not describe a single lucky or hard-won accomplishment. Rather, it is the story of thirty years of decisive campaigns, nearly all of which led to insights of major significance. In relating his story, Kornberg never avoids the difficult question of “why”: why he felt classical nutritional studies had reached a plateau, why he turned to enzymology as a discipline in which the important answers would be found, and why he believes the study of enzymes will grow ever more important as we face the new scientific frontier of brain function.
This book will challenge students of biology and chemistry at all levels who want to do important work rather than simply follow popular trends. It will also delight and inform readers who wish...
Kornberg is a gifted writer and the book contains sentences of both wisdom and beauty… For the Love of Enzymes is at the same time charming, stimulating and informative, a reflection of its author. If widely read—and I very much hope it is—it will greatly contribute to the scientific education of the public. -- Efraim Racker * Nature *
A well-written history of the field and Kornberg’s role in it, full of explanations of the science itself and clear-eyed observations about the process of research. Readers will find here the first-rate mind of a first-rate scientist, and there is pleasure in that. It is rare to read such a lucid account of epoch-making science. -- Lee Dembart * Los Angeles Times *
Kornberg’s book shines with a love of science… Let us hope that there are those like him today who will, in 50 years’ time, be able to inform, instruct and amaze us with a book such as this. -- Maxine Clarke * New Scientist *
This is the life of a great scientist, told with modesty and wit. -- Peter Gorner * Chicago Tribune *
Kornberg’s new book For the Love of Enzymes…traces the origins and development of his research on the biosynthesis of DNA, work that was to bring him a Nobel Prize in 1959. Although largely devoted to science, the book is written from a distinctly personal point of view, which adds greatly to its interest not only because of what we learn about Kornberg the man but also because of the light it sheds on how the personality of a researcher may be reflected in the style of his work… The fusion of biochemistry and genetics that has led to the dramatic emergence of molecular biology and genetic engineering in the past few decades is perhaps the most notable event in science in the later 20th century. For the Love of Enzymes offers a unique and fascinating insight into the life and thought of a man whose work was at the center of these grand developments. -- Eugene Kennedy * Science *
This is a first-rate book. I had difficulty in putting it down. Kornberg is refreshingly frank and writes with a lively wit as well. It has a wealth of important biochemical facts and history, which are brought to life with clarity and style. The book is a paradigm for how to convey factual information in a way that is easy to remember and to enjoy. -- Paul Schimmel, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
ISBN: 9780674307766
Dimensions: 235mm x 152mm x 22mm
Weight: 499g
352 pages