A Victory Lap for a Heretical Neurologist
By Abigail Zuger, M.D.
Published on May 19, 2014, in The New York Times
"Sweet revenge comes in many delectable forms, among them the receipt of accolades for work long scorned. And then to get to tell the whole story at length and without a single interruption—small wonder that the Nobel laureate Dr. Stanley B. Prusiner, a renowned neurologist at the University of California, San Francisco, writes with a cheerful bounce ... Members of Dr. Prusiner’s professional circles may well approach these pages only to relive the painful minutiae of internecine academic combat. Those of us not part of that world are far luckier: We are free to enjoy the spectacle of top gladiators at work in an utterly fascinating arena."
How Memory Speaks
By Jerome Groopman
Published on May 22, 2014, in The New York Review of Books
"Prusiner has evolved from a “pariah” to a “prophet” and now predicts that prions explain the genesis not only of rare disorders like Kuru and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, but also a spectrum of common degenerative diseases of the central nervous system associated with dementia...."
BOOKSHELF: Proteins, Prions, and Paradigm Shift—Persistence and a Little Self-Promotion Help
By Christopher M. Filley, M.D., F.A.A.N.
Published on May 1, 2014, in Neurology Today
"At times remarkably candid, the author introduces the reader to a wide range of individuals whose personal foibles make it clear that, however brilliant they may be, scientists are still quite clearly human beings ... Madness and Memory is a fascinating account of scientific research, discovery, and controversy that will be of interest to many readers within neurology and neuroscience, as well as anyone drawn to the creative process."
Medicine: Outside the Fold
By Giovanna Mallucci
Published on April 10, 2014, in Nature
"It is a remarkable tale: for the scientific discovery at its centre; for its recording of the extraordinary resistance the idea engendered; and for the sheer unfettered animosity, both personal and professional, directed at him throughout from scientists and the media."
Review
By Donald F. Calbreath, Ph.D.
Published on April 27, 2014, in the New York Journal of Books
"Prusiner shows the science game as it is too often played today, and we are all better for his sharing."
