Why another book about vaccines? There are already a few extremely well-written medical textbooks that provide comprehensive, state-of-the-art technical reviews regarding vaccine science. Additionally, in the past decade alone, a number of engrossing, provocative books have been published on various related issues ra- ing from vaccines against specific diseases to vaccine safety and policy. Yet there remains a significant gap in the literature – the history of vaccines. Vaccines: A Biography seeks to fill a void in the extant literature by focusing on the history of vaccines and in so doing, recounts the social, cultural, and scientific history of vaccines; it places them within their natural, historical context. The book traces the lineage – the “biography” – of individual vaccines, originating with deeply rooted medical problems and evolving to an eventual conclusion. Nonetheless, these are not “biographies” in the traditional sense; they do not trace an individual’s growth and development. Instead, they follow an idea as it is conceived and dev- oped, through the contributions of many. These are epic stories of discovery, of risk-takers, of individuals advancing medical science, in the words of the famous physical scientist Isaac Newton, “by standing on the shoulders of giants. ” One grant reviewer described the book’s concept as “triumphalist”; although meant as an indictment, this is only partially inaccurate.

Don Feeney has seen it all. As a diplomat working for the United States, he served in embassies and consulates around the world. As an air force officer, he had some daring exploits of varying levels of sanity and sophistication. Hes lived, worked, and played in more than fifty countries on five continents. In his memoir Gathering No Moss, Feeney recalls his three-decade trip down the wild, weird, and surprising journeys of his life. A somewhat reluctant traveler, he conveys the heavy burden of loneliness on the road while driven by the search for meaning, spirituality, and love. His life has been one of thought-provoking questions, highly charged emotional situations, and brushes with both greatness and tragedy. Hes been an airman, an officer, an instructor, a commander, an administrator, a trainer, a consular officer, a manager, and a diplomat. Hes sold paintings on a street corner, washed dishes, worked in a paper mill, flipped hamburgers, painted houses, and tended bar. He smoked pot, drank too much, and fell in (and out) of love (including four marriages). He went AWOL, was shot at three times, survived a brain aneurysm, and beat colon cancer. His mantraThe more you know, the more you dont know sh*t or TMYKTMYDKSreminds us all that the human mind will never let you understand the human mind.