The editors invited selected authors who had participated in or observed developments in biochemistry and molecular biology, particularly in the second half of this century, to record their personal recollections of the times and circumstances in which they worked. Having been given free reign, both content and style of the contruibutions reflect the flavour of the personality of the author.The book reflects the explosive development of biochemistry and molecular biology and related sciences that had led to the almost unique situation of these fields coming of age at a time when their founding fathers, or their scientific children, were alive and well.The contributions in this volume encompass a wide variety of experiences in many different countries and in very different fields of biochemistry.

As in Volumes 35 and 36, the chapters in this new volume complement, with personal recollections, the History of Biochemistry that was covered in the Comprehensive Biochemistry Series, Volumes 30-33 by M. Florkin and Volume 34A by P. Laszlo. The biographical and autobiographical chapters will convey to the reader a lively, albeit at times subjective, view of the scientific and social environment in which the authors have worked, resulting in new concepts and theories on the biological sciences.

This book is the latest volume in a highly successful series within Comprehensive Biochemistry and provides a historical and autobiographical perspective of the development of the field through the contributions of leading individuals who reflect on their careers and their impact on biochemistry. The book is essential reading for everybody, from graduate student to professor, placing in context major advances not only in biochemical terms but in relation to historical and social developments. Readers will be delighted by the lively style and the insight into the lives and careers of leading scientists of their time.

The Reader's Guide to the History of Science looks at the literature of science in some 550 entries on individuals (Einstein), institutions and disciplines (Mathematics), general themes (Romantic Science) and central concepts (Paradigm and Fact). The history of science is construed widely to include the history of medicine and technology as is reflected in the range of disciplines from which the international team of 200 contributors are drawn.