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A LONG LINE OF CELLS
A series of essays on biology published hitherto in New York Times and Discover. Acompedium of 86 essays. The first 29 comprise "The Lives of a Cell" which was very popular and well received.
- GenresScience
Unknown Binding
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About the author
Lewis Thomas
71 books218 followersLewis Thomas (November 25, 1913–December 3, 1993) was a physician, poet, etymologist, essayist, administrator, educator, policy advisor, and researcher.
Thomas was born in Flushing, New York and attended Princeton University and Harvard Medical School. He became Dean of Yale Medical School and New York University School of Medicine, and President of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Institute. His formative years as an independent medical researcher were at Tulane University School of Medicine.
He was invited to write regular essays in the New England Journal of Medicine, and won a National Book Award for the 1974 collection of those essays, The Lives of a Cell: Notes of a Biology Watcher. He also won a Christopher Award for this book. Two other collections of essays (from NEJM and other sources) are The Medusa and the Snail and Late Night Thoughts on Listening to Mahler's Ninth Symphony. His autobiography, The Youngest Science: Notes of a Medicine Watcher is a record of a century of medicine and the changes which occurred in it. He also published a book on etymology entitled Et Cetera, Et Cetera, poems, and numerous scientific papers.
Many of his essays discuss relationships among ideas or concepts using etymology as a starting point. Others concern the cultural implications of scientific discoveries and the growing awareness of ecology. In his essay on Mahler's Ninth Symphony, Thomas addresses the anxieties produced by the development of nuclear weapons.[1] Thomas is often quoted, given his notably eclectic interests and superlative prose style.
The Lewis Thomas Prize is awarded annually by The Rockefeller University to a scientist for artistic achievement.
Thomas was born in Flushing, New York and attended Princeton University and Harvard Medical School. He became Dean of Yale Medical School and New York University School of Medicine, and President of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Institute. His formative years as an independent medical researcher were at Tulane University School of Medicine.
He was invited to write regular essays in the New England Journal of Medicine, and won a National Book Award for the 1974 collection of those essays, The Lives of a Cell: Notes of a Biology Watcher. He also won a Christopher Award for this book. Two other collections of essays (from NEJM and other sources) are The Medusa and the Snail and Late Night Thoughts on Listening to Mahler's Ninth Symphony. His autobiography, The Youngest Science: Notes of a Medicine Watcher is a record of a century of medicine and the changes which occurred in it. He also published a book on etymology entitled Et Cetera, Et Cetera, poems, and numerous scientific papers.
Many of his essays discuss relationships among ideas or concepts using etymology as a starting point. Others concern the cultural implications of scientific discoveries and the growing awareness of ecology. In his essay on Mahler's Ninth Symphony, Thomas addresses the anxieties produced by the development of nuclear weapons.[1] Thomas is often quoted, given his notably eclectic interests and superlative prose style.
The Lewis Thomas Prize is awarded annually by The Rockefeller University to a scientist for artistic achievement.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
June 14, 2016
Collected essays by Thomas. It includes "The Lives of a Cell" essays, which I had read previously, but also has a number of other essays that I had not previously perused. Thomas wrote with a great deal of passion and clarity on the topics of nature, biology, and science.
December 30, 2009
An intimate romp with a biologist thru everyday life; mostly at the cellular level. His style is breasy and thought provoking.
May 10, 2013
I can't describe how wonderful these writings are.
January 2, 2014
Great book. Read it in high school the first time and profound new ways of looking and understading life. When is a pile a mound?
June 18, 2017
This is my favourite book of science essays of all time. Lewis Thomas is a lyrical writer who places our species firmly inside the biological family and away from the vaunted heights we have assigned for ourselves, and reminds us that we are really all just walking colonies of the millions of different organisms who all have a say in the outcomes of our lives.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews