The Antibody Molecule

Antony R. Rees

Why I looked at this book

The immune system is highly complex, and understanding it is an important part of understanding the functioning of an organism. In particular much of the diversity of our genes is related to our immune systems, and so the study of immunity provides an important part of the study of genetics. I'm hoping that, in providing a history of the antibody molecule, this book will a gentle introduction to the immune system as well as telling how immunological research has led to new treatments for disease (and so suggest what treatments might become available in the future)

First impressions

The sample looks at some of the early work on vaccination, and manages to pack in plenty of information (I'd not realised before that Jenner's smallpox vaccination was a two stage process, firstly with cowpox and then with smallpox itself), but still very readable. And it's interesting to see how, as ever, the revolutionary discoveries were generally ignored by the establishment of the time. I'm looking forward to the rest of the book.