Perspectives in Biology and Medicine

The Waking Brain. By H. W. Magoun. Springfield: Charles C Thomas, 1958. Pp. viii+ 138. $3.00. This delightful book contains the speeches delivered recently as the Thomas William Salmon Memorial Lectures ofthe New York Academy ofMedicine. They were given by a man who pioneered in the study ofthe reticular formation ofthe brain, which, in a way, is the centraltheme ofthis volume. Professor Magoun'sextensive knowledge ofhis subject and his world-wide acquaintance with colleagues in neurophysiology permit him to give the reader a fascinating summary ofthe "waking brain." The short historical introduction sets the stage for the contemporary scene ofintensive investigations, especially with the Los Angeles group. The reticular formation is dealt with in all its ramifications, such as postural regulation, afferent transmission, neuroendocrine function, emotions, wakefulness , attention, and especially cortical activity. Recent investigations show that it is from the reticular core ofthe brain that the organism is able to control its input ofall sensory modalities. Professor Magoun's analysis and review ofthis activity are clear and concise, as is the whole book. An extensive, well chosen bibliography adds greatly to the usefulness ofthis valuable graphic account. Paul G. Roopb University ofKansas Microbiology Yesterday and Today. Edited by Vernon Bryson. New Brunswick: Institute ofMicrobiology, Rutgers, the State University, 1959. Pp. ?+122. $4.00. Dr. Selman A. Waksman was honored on his seventieth birthday by a symposium that the seven papers in this volume represent—on microbial chemistry byJ. H. Quastel; antibiotics by H. B. Woodruff; isolated facets ofimmunochemistry byM. Heidelberger; bacterial classification by S. T. Cowan; microbial genetics by V. Bryson; a discussion of Russian microbiology by G. K. Skriabin; and the last is a general discussion by Waksman. With the exception ofWaksman's paper, and to a lesser extent Cowan's and Bryson's, each represents a relatively highly specialized area, and "yesterday" is taken to mean the three or four immediately preceding decades. The coverage is inevitably spotty, leaving largesegmentsofthearea generallyconsideredto comprisemicrobiologyalmostuntouched, and there is little evidence of synthesis among the several facets covered. Within these limitations, the coverage is excellent. Particularly interesting is Quastel's account ofthe early development of microbial physiology, especially at the Cambridge school, with which he was so intimately associated and which developed into such an outstanding center in the 1930's under the protective wing ofF. G. Hopkins. Woodruffs discussion of the antibiotic! is similarly detailed and well written, as is Bryson's consideration ofmicrobial genetics. Cowan's excellent, constructively critical account ofbacterial taxonomy should be required reading for all microbiologists, and the broad sweep of Waksman's paper should be a part ofevery student's thinking at a very early stage in his education. A symposiumsuch asthis couldhave provided an opportunityfor a more generalconsideration ofthe nature and significance ofmicrobiology. This would be a unique con437 ...